I found this fair-condition softcover at a local Salvation Army thrift shop, and nabbed it for another release copy.

I really enjoyed this collection, which darts around between the author calmly informing the reader that everything is made up - except the bits that aren't - and an author-avatar character who recounts all-too-believable incidents from war-torn Vietnam, ranging from eccentric and wacky to gut-wrenching. Along the way we meet the members of his squad, getting to know some of them all too well by the time something awful befalls them.

From the beginning, the author puts the concept of heroism to a very severe test. As he points out, "Men killed and died because they were embarrassed not to," showing over and over the things that people would do not out of a sense of duty or honor or belief but to avoid being thought unworthy by their peers...

Another cautionary note: "If a story seems moral, do not believe it." You have been warned!

The opening chapter consisted mainly of a lengthy - and surprisingly interesting - litany of "the things they carried", from personal diaries to amazing amounts of ammunition to the occasional bag of weed. This sets up the arduous nature of jungle patrols in 'nam, and later stories emphasize that, with real-time looks at various fatal encounters, and with flashbacks from the survivors as they recall their lost comrades and try to deal with their own guilt.

The main narrator-character has one chapter on how he came very near to running to Canada to escape the draft - this plays back into the fear-of-what-others-will-think comment, though there are a lot of factors involved in his final decision. It felt very, very real, and I do wonder just how much of the book is autobiography and how much is not.

Another story deals with one of the squad who actually invited his girlfriend to come visit - and she did, not only becoming comfortable with the rough conditions but setting out on stealth patrols! This was a bit hard to swallow - not that a woman would do it, but that an untrained civilian would (a) be allowed in, and (b) manage to get very far without blowing herself to smithereens. Oddly enough, I'd read a similar anecdote in The Boy Who Picked the Bullets Up, making me wonder who influenced whom - or if a real-world incident inspired both.

The stories touch on many things, and the language is often quite lyrical - even when describing awful scenes. And while the author does say, more than once, "almost everything else is invented", it still feels true, mapping onto actual news reports and autobiographies. "Enjoy" might not be the right word - some scenes were too harrowing for me, fictional or not - but I felt immersed in the characters' story, and I'm glad I read the book.

[There's a TV Tropes page on the book. The book has also inspired a film, A Soldier's Sweetheart, and a stage adaptation.]

I plan to leave this book in the waiting area of the Subaru while having my car inspected; hope someone enjoys the book!

[See other recent releases in NH here.]

*** Released for the 2019 Movie release challenge. ***