The Big V — William Pelfrey

Drafted fresh out of college, Henry Winsted can't fix the lunacy and clenching fear of Vietnam with his memories of what the war looked like on the 6 O'Clock News. Now, in the middle of the real thing, he is staring into the many faces of irrational slaughter ... the open stare of a "friendly" villager who knows that a cadre of guerrillas waits in ambush ... the suicidal frenzy of John Wayne sergeants ... tape-recorded taps for a fallen comrade. Henry Winsted's war is cold fury, brotherly compassion, grudging patriotism, a savage will to survive, and the fierce friendships that can be annihilated instantly by a bullet or booby trap.