Summary

During the book O'brien takes you through his life in boot camp to contemplating going AWOL. He relizes that it is not a good choice to abandon his country, so he goes back to camp. O'brien was shipped over to Vietnam in 1969 and spends a few weeks in an American camp Chu Lai receiving last-minute training such as mine sweeping and gernade throwing as well as the essential do's and don'ts of jungle warfare, before being sent to Landing Zone Gator in Quang Ngai Province where he is assigned to Alpha company. O'brien takes you through the book by talking about various events that went on during his service, somtimes about the people he ment and what they meant to him. Also a complete chapter just dedicated to the different types of mines and death traps that the VC set up. O'Brien describes his time in Alpha Company and the various events that took place during his time there, as well as some of the people he encountered. In the end of the novel O'biren is being flown home.