War in Aquarius

Book excerpt: Faced with a 1-A draft classification after graduation from college in the spring of 1968, the author decided to control his own destiny by volunteering for the draft. Soon he was given the one job he most wanted to avoid--infantryman. This is a foot soldier's story of twelve long months in Vietnam. Assigned to the 25th Infantry Division, much of his time was spent fighting a guerrilla war along the Cambodian border during the "Vietnamization" program. Day-to-day platoon operations produced dread, fear, bafflement, loyalty, disillusionment and ecstasy among the men fighting and dying in the jungle. The lack of leadership, both military and political, exacerbated the conditions.