"This is the story of a young man who was drafted into the army in 1964 and who ended up in Vietnam as a marine recon company commander at the DMZ in 1967. While a war story, it is more importantly about growing up in a combat zone with the help of senior mentors and a bit of luck, while dealing with a tenacious enemy as well as politicians thousands of miles from the battlefield. It is also a portrait of America in the troubled 1960s"--