WAR PAINT The 1st Infantry Division's LRP/Ranger Company in Fierce Combat in Vietnam

Reader Jake Robards sounds as young as the author must have been when he fought in the Vietnam War, serving as an Army Ranger at Lai Khe Base, just inside Cambodia, a short distance from Vietcong headquarters. Goshen's writing is not sophisticated, but neither are the otherwise ordinary men who excel at soldiering; his plain style makes his memories all the more credible. Robards barks out the military lingo, using acronyms we have never heard to describe combat we will never see. Gaps left by the severe abridgment belie the writer's skill. Some of the nightmares recounted tell of the psychological toll on these patriots who fought a war nobody wanted. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 02]