I have always had a
healthy interest in war stories. My grandfathers both served in World War II.
One served from a tank and was close enough to see Hitler or so I was told. The
other flew fighter planes. My father served as a mechanic in Vietnam. My
husband served as a military police officer in Operation Desert Storm. In Operation
Iraqi Freedom, he returned as a commanding officer of infantrymen.
I married into a family of
soldiers as well. One grandfather-in-law served on the ship that delivered the
bomb known as “Little Boy” to Hiroshima. The other grandfather-in-law served on
the German side. The Nazis forced him to serve in the Luftwaffe. Stories abound
– now. They didn’t before. Soldiers do not share the horrors of war with their
civilian families. It has taken decades for the stories to come out and generally
between the soldiers while the rest of us listen from the edges.
I still remember when I
was in high school and the movie Platoon came
out. I thought I was desperate to see it. It was probably media hype and a
handsome cast. My father generally took me to the movies when I visited him on
Thursday evenings. He rarely said no. But this time he did. He didn’t want to
watch a Vietnam War movie with his daughter. I don’t remember when I finally
was able to see it, with whom, or how. But see it I did and every other one
including Full Metal Jacket and Born on the Fourth of July.
And I didn’t stop there,
as movies became more realistic, I tried to catch them all. (Still haven’t been
successful watching the old black and whites.) I thought it was important for
me to be exposed to the good, the bad and the ugly. I want be painfully aware
of what men and women have sacrificed for our country.
I have read many, MANY,
fictionalized war stories for children. Circumstances dictate that the stories
will be about children and their experiences during war rather than about
soldiers, young or old. So this novel that I present today is special. Fallen Angels is a young adult novel
and therefore follows the experiences of a new high school graduate who joins
the army and serves in Vietnam.
The novel came to my
attention because it won the Coretta Scott King Award for literature in 1988. It
is written by an African American and the main character, as well as a few
secondary characters, is also African American. But I thought the author did an
amazing job of catching the spirit of the times without making me feel like an
outsider to the culture. There is racial prejudice, but even the Italians are
on the receiving end.
The main character, Richie
Perry, cannot afford college so he joins the Army and is shipped to Vietnam
after a quick round of basic training. During Basic, a sport’s injury is
discovered. Richie has a bad knee from playing basketball. A medical profile is
created that almost certainly guarantees a desk job at headquarters.
Unfortunately, the profile, much like airline baggage, gets lost during the
trip overseas. Richie is given the opportunity to wait for his profile to catch
up with him, but pride and loyalty require that he sticks with the rest of the
newbies.
What I like most about
this book, is that it is less about battles, battle grounds, strategic lines and
strategy and more about Richie’s inner battle. He struggles daily with staying focused
enough to stay alive especially as the horrors he sees daily repeat themselves
in the nightmares he has at night. He discovers early on that fear leads to
death. Once fearful, he risks a greater chance at making mistakes. Mistakes
that include missing critical clues or firing on friendlies.
I recommend this book to
any young man who has a heart to serve in the armed forces. All types are
represented here from the hardcore army man to the gentleman who has something
to prove to his father. And everything in between. I also recommend it the
families of Vietnam Vets. I’ve learned so much and it explained much more than
some men can express.
The book made the American
Library Association’s Most Frequently Banned list because of explicit language,
violence and sexual references. This is war people. I didn’t find any of it to
be excessive or offensive considering the subject. It was not sensationalist in
my opinion. It was realistic.
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