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This book opens with an introduction to the impoverished Oklahoma in which Roger lived. Readers learn about the author’s school years, in which he was an average student. Eventually, the author shares his experiences of joining the Army ROTC program at the University of California, his training at Fort Benning, and his deployment to Vietnam. Readers find many stories about the author’s involvement with a woman named Lan, an interpreter. Roger also shares experiences about how the training received in the ROTC program and basic training differed from real-life battles. As the book concludes, he discloses insights about living and fighting in Vietnam, being wounded, and life after his return to the United States.
As the Vietnam War years grow more and more distant from public consciousness, and as new wars and their human cost overshadow them, this book offers an important testimony. Roger shares deeply personal and touching insights about being a soldier. At certain points in the book, the author also recounts experiences about the stateside perception of those soldiers about to deploy to Vietnam. One of the book’s most memorable stories is when the author visits a restaurant, and he hears the waitress mutter, “Baby killer.” He responds by not saying anything and asserts that they “were just trying to defeat the Communists and free the people in South Vietnam.” This small interaction is important because it shows the schism that occurred in American society at the time.
Music also plays an important role in the book, and it is made clear in the narrative that it holds personal significance for the author. Throughout the book, readers find various song and musician references. However, the author’s engagement with music becomes even more understood when Roger shares a story about buying a guitar. For example, he details not only buying the guitar but also his determination to put it to good use: “I copied down the lyrics of the Joan Baez songs that I wanted to learn the lyrics and how to play the chords.”
Additionally, the book candidly describes the effect the Vietnam War had on families. Specifically, the author captures this by focusing on the toll their deployments took on his mother and grandmother. This depiction helps readers understand the importance of familial support to soldiers during the Vietnam War. More so, the stories the author shares about his mother and grandmother show the role many women played in the lives of Vietnam War soldiers and veterans.
This book is a good read for anyone interested in the personal lives of Vietnam veterans. It details many social and personal interactions that prove integral to helping readers understand the author’s experiences. Readers also learn what it was like for soldiers who returned to the United States and then received orders that they were once again being deployed to Vietnam. Thus, the book is a great tool for understanding the emotional and psychological toll of the war on soldiers. It helps record a period in American history that is quickly being forgotten. For readers who are interested in the Vietnam War and especially the lives of those who lived through it, this book will be an engaging read.