Youth in Asia, 1968 Vietnam, The Central Highlands, by Allen Tiffany

Allen Tiffany provides us a powerful short story about the war in Viet Nam in time to honor those who served there on the 50th anniversary of the beginning of that conflict. As a military officer, an graduate of Airborne and Ranger school, Tiffany provides a unique knowledge of the military and specifically the army that allows him to deliver this poignant short story about American Army Personnel who served in Vietnam.

Having five people I knew loose their lives in Vietnam and with one of those, John Michael Tompkins, having been my childhood best friend and "big brother" growing up I knew the pain and loss that this conflict brought to many families in America. Having talked with and received written documents from those men that were with John on the day he died I learned how harsh the reality of an Ambush can be, especially when your comrade and friend don't survive.

So, it was with interest that I wanted to read Allen's story. Let me say that his portrayal of this squad of men and their patrols in the highlands of Viet Nam capture perfectly the stories that John's friends relayed to me and wrote in their own diaries. I felt as though I was walking through the jungle with those men. So, thank you Allen for a powerfully written message about the men who served. I will say that it was a hard read, because I could picture my friend John and picture his death in an Ambush and know that it happened during the Tet Offensive, just as your story tells.

NOW FOR THE STORY REVIEW:
A young Army Airborne Ranger leaves his tour of duty in Korea along the DMZ to head for his next posting, Vietnam. He arrives in November 1967 just a short time before the 1968 Tet Offensive (Tet meaning New Year) by the Viet Cong takes place. This young corporal will be placed in charge of a squad of men because he has "experience" because of his time in Korea. He and his four men will need every once of courage, strength, fortitude and good luck to survive what is coming.

The Battalion and the Company that his squad is part of has just lost 200 men on hill 857 where there were also 700 casualties. So, the squads, platoons, companies and the Battalion are all very short handed. Our Corporal comes along just after that and thus gets placed in leadership quickly.

We will follow him and his three "veterans" (men who have been through that fight) and their new "cherry" recruit that has just arrived from the United States and is fresh out of basic trainer, which means, he knows nothing.

The character of each man will be developed by the author, but what is amazing is how well he tells of their thoughts, their fears, their anxiety and their courage under fire. This is not the stuff of hero's (although there will be heroics), this is the stuff of real men of war and the ravages that they will face, the sweat, the heat, the bugs, the insects, the tiredness, the lack of food and good water and the contact with the enemy which brings the true inner man to the surface.

The title of the book is correct, these were very young men thrown into war, many of them just 18 years old. They would change from what they would see. They would either come home "much older" than their age, or they would come home in a coffin. Death was always just one step away.

This book is fairly quick and easy to read, but for those who were there (I wasn't) or those who lost friends (I did) you can't read this without it bringing back many memories, not all of them nice.

Thank you Allen for such a well written story.