The author reminisces about his life, in a profile of a young man coming of age during the Vietnam war, chronicling his experiences as a former ROTC intelligence officer in command of a group of enlisted men on assignment in Vietnam.

Most history-minded Americans have discussed the Vietnam War, becoming familiar, at the very least, with the names of such pivotal events as the Siege of Khe Sanh, the Tet Offensive, and the Fall of Saigon. But to grasp the full impact of this agonizing conflict, the human costs of an infernal war that raged for ten years and took more than 58,000 American lives, one must hear about it from the soldiers, sailors, and airmen who experienced the fighting...

Describes the Vietnam Conflict through the letters of the people who fought it, including war supporters and objectors, African Americans and Hispanics, pilots, soldiers, and combat nurses.