This memoir of the author's tour of duty in Vietnam in 1968 is a true account of a 19-year-old's journey from a quiet civilian life in Connecticut to an Army infantryman in Vietnam, first as a private and a point man, later as platoon sergeant. He describes the many face-to-face encounters he had with the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army—experiences that required him to remain calm and focused—and the hardships he encountered and friendships he developed along the way.
The author was assigned to the U.S. Army's 25th Infantry Division ("Tropic Lightning"), 9th Infantry Regiment ("Manchus"), Fourth Battalion. The Manchus operated primarily between Saigon and the Cambodian border, a key entry point into South Vietnam for North Vietnamese troops and supply caravans traveling along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The author uses the letters he wrote to his parents during his tour of duty to frame his memoir, but his letters purposely omitted the details of the war he was experiencing. His letters were meant to calm his parent's fears, as he didn't want them to worry. Years later, when he discovered a box full of his letters in his parents' attic, the memories came flooding back, and he started to write. These are the stories he left out of his letters—the stories he did not tell.