Warriors and Widows

Book excerpt: Warriors and Widows is a war novel. The time is from September of 1965 to February of 1966. The characters are from a platoon of the 1st Battalion, Sixteenth Infantry, 1st Infantry Division assimilated and trained at Fort Riley in Kansas, then sent to Vietnam to search out and destroy the enemy. Search and Destroy is their only mission. They typically roamed the jungles for twenty-five days at a time hunting the enemy, killing them and destroying all of their dwellings and supplies. As the story progresses and the men's experiences in combat grow, so do the costs of war. Costs are levied on all involved. Men kill and are killed. Women's husbands and sweethearts back home are wounded and killed. North and South Vietnamese are similarly affected by the battles. As time goes on, both searchers and destroyers realize that they are destroying not only their enemies, but also themselves and their loved ones.