Quang Tri Cadence: Memoir of a Rifle Platoon Leader in the Mountains of Vietnam

by Jon Oplinger

Having flunked out of college in the fall of 1965, the author enlisted in the U.S. Army. After basic training he was assigned to Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia, an institution dedicated to the manufacture of the commodity the wartime army most quickly expends--rifle platoon leaders. In June of 1968, he found himself leading a rifle platoon in D Company 2/5th, First Cavalry Division. Quang Tri Cadence draws upon the original maps used in Vietnam and upon the battalion radio logs which were recently declassified at the time of writing. Life in a rifle platoon is presented at the boot level with all its grit, bewilderment, fatigue and fear. This book is not about what the pentagon is pleased to call "violence processing"; this book is about ordinary events in strange places; it is about being "in the field" and coming home. The author's experiences at Kent State University during the shootings in May of 1970 are also recounted.

220 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1993

Reviews

[Mj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written book by a thoughtful man

This book is not festooned with explosions and gory combat detail, which, from my easy chair, I was shopping for. It does have realism, feeling and perspective. This guy reminds me of my soberest, most reliable friends. The guys who show up when needed, tend towards modesty, and have vast reserves of common sense. He is pretty brave, pretty strong, pretty humble and plenty smart. His book is an anchor to sanity.