 |
In 1970, U.S. Navy pilot Jon Zachery worries that the Vietnam War will end before he has a chance to fly any combat missions over there. If that happens, the eleven-year veteran will be discharged and forced to do what he dreads—find some mind-numbing civilian job. Jon's also trying, with ever-increasing amounts of booze, to outrun the specter of his deceased son and the possibility that another pregnancy could kill the wife he's always called "Dearest Teresa" in his letters home. But it's a loving letter from Teresa that lifts Jon's despair. He quits drinking and rekindles their romance. Jon's optimism grows when he's sent to Vietnam with his squadron, Warhorse.
Pilot Amos Kane is the son of a wealthy napalm manufacturer. Handsome and clever, he would ascend the ranks quickly if his superiors didn't despise his arrogance and insubordination. Amos' mother runs his life, and he vows to never again be submissive in a relationship with a woman. Then sexy antiwar demonstrator Charlotte Wilkins strains his resolve. When his attitude earns him a last reprimand, Amos turns in his wings in a huff. Amos is reassigned as an aircraft mechanic on the same carrier as Jon and his squadron. Jealous of Jon's rapport with the others, Amos instigates an acrimonious rivalry. Used to getting his way, he uses pacifism to disguise his own newly formed dark ambition. While Jon channels his ambition to mature personally and professionally, Amos uses his to plan the destruction of the squadron that has rejected him.
Thirty-six years in the U.S. Navy, including three tours of duty in Vietnam in six years, give Zerr expert knowledge of his subject matter. Like his protagonist, Jon, Zerr served aboard both an aircraft carrier and a destroyer. Following the text, he includes a helpful list of naval terms used throughout the story. He also provides the full versions of all navy acronyms employed within the narrative, aiding readers' comprehension.
The contrast in the relationships between Amos and Jon and their respective love interests is marked. Before he discards his wings, Amos refuses to submit to Charlotte's offers of sex. Afterward, he relents, since nothing matters to him now that he is no longer a pilot. They become engaged, but there is no mention of Amos loving Charlotte or any grief he experiences after her death. This relationship mirrors what he had with his mother insofar as he views gaining control as the way to succeed relationally.
Jon's wife Teresa is sexually submissive and is fervently Catholic. She has loved Jon since high school and does not make demands. Teresa requests, for example, that Jon stop drinking and not curse around their children. He complies. Though Jon is afraid intercourse will cause life-threatening pregnancy, Teresa encourages him to leave his concerns with God. Teresa's quiet strength behind him also seems to enable Jon to share his moral misgivings about the war with his fellow sailors. Meanwhile, Amos lacks a quietly self-confident or solidly religious female figure in his life and thus falls back on bravado and rebellion against authority.
Like Glyn Haynie's Promises to the Fallen and Larry Rubenstein's A Coward's Hero, this book reflects its author's extensive military experience. All three books likewise detail the emotional distress of combat and the troops' moral uncertainties about the conflict. Vietnam War history buffs will undoubtedly enjoy the narrative. Furthermore, the novel may draw a readership among those who like plots involving two main characters where one grows and changes through adversity while the other does not.