No Good War: An Infantry Memoir of the Vietnam War (Volume 26) (North Texas Military Biography and Memoir Series)

"The war in Vietnam and the draft put a great black cloud over an entire generation of Americans during the 1960s and '70s. Many resisted the draft, many fled the country, but most, when called, went into the military and served. This is the story of one man who was drafted, spent a full year in combat as an infantry soldier, and describes what life has been like for that veteran since coming home. John D. "Jasper" Herrick served in the US Army First Cavalry from March 1967 to March 1968. During that time, day to day, he depended on his fellow grunts, like "Chief," and on letters from home to stay alive and maintain some degree of sanity, while developing a great disdain for officers and REMFs (Rear Echelon Mother F***ers). He did the usual activities of the grunt in this war: search and destroy missions and ambush patrols, always remaining alert and looking for the enemy. He fought in one large battle, the Battle of LZ Pat, during which his company was decimated and brought down below half its intended number, largely due to the incompetence of officers. The author was promoted three times, achieving a final rank of Sergeant E-5.