What do you think?
Rate this book
Reflections of Valour
Brenda Walker passes slowly by Panel 15-E of "The Wall," the memorial to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice during the Vietnam War. There, etched into the black granite, she spots the name of her college sweetheart, "John Briggs." She had never known his fate until now.
Reflections of Valour is an American story of untested lovers from opposite backgrounds during the tumultuous early days of the Vietnam War. Brenda attends an exclusive east coast women's college and enjoys the trappings of her wealthy suburban environment. John is from a modest midwestern working class family. The military has become his life. Their relationship grows despite the differences in their lives.
The Marine Corps owns his loyalty. When he is called to war, Briggs is torn between a sense of duty and having to leave behind the woman he loves. His departure leaves many unanswered questions about their future.
In Vietnam, Briggs emerges as a leader among the young troops trying to survive combat. The reader experiences the exhilaration, the boredom, the confusion, and the horrors of war. He witnesses the murder of Vietnamese civilians, the death of fellow Marines in a tragic accident and narrowly escapes enemy capture.
Briggs becomes an artillery forward observer in the DMZ where his unit hunts for the enemy across a barren landscape destroyed by American use of deadly "Rainbow" herbicides. Eventually, the hunter becomes the hunted when they are ambushed. After a fierce firefight Briggs leaves the battlefield alive, but critically wounded. He faces slim odds to recover from wounds and exposure to Agent Orange.
John Briggs' place of honor on "The Wall" is more than a name. Like 57,939 other names, it is a life story. Two decades after they said goodbye, Brenda finally learns why he was drawn to war and what happened to him afterward. Her life is changed forever by knowing him and loving him.
Reflection of Valour is a novel of love, of peace, and of closure.
Reflections of Valour is an American story of untested lovers from opposite backgrounds during the tumultuous early days of the Vietnam War. Brenda attends an exclusive east coast women's college and enjoys the trappings of her wealthy suburban environment. John is from a modest midwestern working class family. The military has become his life. Their relationship grows despite the differences in their lives.
The Marine Corps owns his loyalty. When he is called to war, Briggs is torn between a sense of duty and having to leave behind the woman he loves. His departure leaves many unanswered questions about their future.
In Vietnam, Briggs emerges as a leader among the young troops trying to survive combat. The reader experiences the exhilaration, the boredom, the confusion, and the horrors of war. He witnesses the murder of Vietnamese civilians, the death of fellow Marines in a tragic accident and narrowly escapes enemy capture.
Briggs becomes an artillery forward observer in the DMZ where his unit hunts for the enemy across a barren landscape destroyed by American use of deadly "Rainbow" herbicides. Eventually, the hunter becomes the hunted when they are ambushed. After a fierce firefight Briggs leaves the battlefield alive, but critically wounded. He faces slim odds to recover from wounds and exposure to Agent Orange.
John Briggs' place of honor on "The Wall" is more than a name. Like 57,939 other names, it is a life story. Two decades after they said goodbye, Brenda finally learns why he was drawn to war and what happened to him afterward. Her life is changed forever by knowing him and loving him.
Reflection of Valour is a novel of love, of peace, and of closure.
273 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 26, 2021
5 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 22, 2021
“Reflections of Valour,” set mostly in the mid-1960s as the U.S. war in Vietnam is escalating, is an especially timely book now as the 20-year U.S. war in Afghanistan, which has frequently been compared to the Vietnam war, comes to an end.
“Reflections” doesn’t particularly dwell on the reasons, policies, strategies or results of the Vietnam war; instead, it gives us richly detailed points of view on the war from its principal character, young Marine enlistee John Briggs, his fellow Marines, and Briggs’s college sweetheart, Brenda Kiley. Issues of love, loyalty, duty, friendship, courage and more are woven throughout the book’s four-decade span, which includes a memorable reckoning at The Wall, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, in Washington D.C.
“Reflections’” story begins with a prologue and proceeds over 36 well-structured and tightly-written chapters, 23 of which begin with a brief, one paragraph “Vietnam War Timeline” that describe the war buildup, advance the story and bring context to the chapter action. Relatively peaceful U.S. civilian life is sharply juxtaposed with wartime military life, much of which is training for deployment to and fighting in Vietnam. The anxiety, worry, conflict and anguish of the time, for civilians and military alike, is captured memorably and accurately in the language of the characters and the accounts of their experiences. Poignantly, The Wall bookends the story in a way that will surprise many.
The Wall, of course, is part of the legacy of the Vietnam war, one of many that are visible and with us now, including one long-term effect that is vividly shown in the book, and surely will prompt readers to reflect on the consequences of war.
I greatly appreciated the authenticity in “Reflections,” which is evident in its Glossary of Military Jargon, a reference listing, acknowledgements of the important roles of others in developing the book, and the author’s personal experience as a young Marine in combat in Vietnam in 1966, his “original research” for “Reflections,” he states.
This is a worthwhile book; informative, credible, engaging, and its author is an actual witness to and participant in the Vietnam war, its era and aftermath. “Reflections of Valour” has something important to say and remember as we live our lives.
“Reflections” doesn’t particularly dwell on the reasons, policies, strategies or results of the Vietnam war; instead, it gives us richly detailed points of view on the war from its principal character, young Marine enlistee John Briggs, his fellow Marines, and Briggs’s college sweetheart, Brenda Kiley. Issues of love, loyalty, duty, friendship, courage and more are woven throughout the book’s four-decade span, which includes a memorable reckoning at The Wall, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, in Washington D.C.
“Reflections’” story begins with a prologue and proceeds over 36 well-structured and tightly-written chapters, 23 of which begin with a brief, one paragraph “Vietnam War Timeline” that describe the war buildup, advance the story and bring context to the chapter action. Relatively peaceful U.S. civilian life is sharply juxtaposed with wartime military life, much of which is training for deployment to and fighting in Vietnam. The anxiety, worry, conflict and anguish of the time, for civilians and military alike, is captured memorably and accurately in the language of the characters and the accounts of their experiences. Poignantly, The Wall bookends the story in a way that will surprise many.
The Wall, of course, is part of the legacy of the Vietnam war, one of many that are visible and with us now, including one long-term effect that is vividly shown in the book, and surely will prompt readers to reflect on the consequences of war.
I greatly appreciated the authenticity in “Reflections,” which is evident in its Glossary of Military Jargon, a reference listing, acknowledgements of the important roles of others in developing the book, and the author’s personal experience as a young Marine in combat in Vietnam in 1966, his “original research” for “Reflections,” he states.
This is a worthwhile book; informative, credible, engaging, and its author is an actual witness to and participant in the Vietnam war, its era and aftermath. “Reflections of Valour” has something important to say and remember as we live our lives.
September 25, 2022
I couldn't help but be intrigued by Reflections of Valour. I found it a compelling story that just seemed very real to me. It begins in 1988 when Brenda Kiley visits the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC, with her family and sees the name of her old lover, John Briggs, on the wall. Their romance began in 1965 when she was a student at Mary Washington College and he was a Marine from the other side of the tracks at Camp Lejeune. Their relationship blossoms over the next few months, with Briggs frequently making the trip up the I-95 corridor to visit Brenda at Mary Washington, until he makes the fateful decision to extend his enlistment and do a tour in Vietnam.
From there, the story shifts to Vietnam to cover Briggs' wartime experience. I thought it painted an insightful picture of what life was like for a young Marine, far from home, doing his best to live up to his expectations and the expectations of the Corps. I also really enjoyed the descriptions of the day-to-day activities and conversations of the Marines, carving out pecking orders and analyzing the ability and motivations of their officers. My sense is these are the same conversations that combatants have had for centuries and will continue to have as long as there is war.
As Brenda looks back at what her life might have been with John, it makes me wonder just how many Brendas and Johns are out there, their lives forever altered by war. I thoroughly enjoyed Reflections of Valour and I highly recommend it.
From there, the story shifts to Vietnam to cover Briggs' wartime experience. I thought it painted an insightful picture of what life was like for a young Marine, far from home, doing his best to live up to his expectations and the expectations of the Corps. I also really enjoyed the descriptions of the day-to-day activities and conversations of the Marines, carving out pecking orders and analyzing the ability and motivations of their officers. My sense is these are the same conversations that combatants have had for centuries and will continue to have as long as there is war.
As Brenda looks back at what her life might have been with John, it makes me wonder just how many Brendas and Johns are out there, their lives forever altered by war. I thoroughly enjoyed Reflections of Valour and I highly recommend it.
Read
February 15, 2022MWSA Review
Author James Elsener's Reflections of Valour relates the story of two young lovers—John and Brenda—who live in different worlds: she in the rarefied world of elite college and he in the Marine Corps. It is the middle of the Vietnam War, and as they learn more about each other, she prepares to graduate and John decides to re-enlist and continue his service to his country. He does not discuss his decision with Brenda before re-enlisting, and she is angry. They part with harsh words.
John's time in Vietnam is drawn well in this book. He is a forward observer operating in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). James Elsener takes the reader along on missions with John. The author allows us to feel the boredom, fear, and physical discomfort John and his comrades experienced. We come to understand how they relied on each other, liked each other, or just tolerated each other. And we are dismayed when a few months prior to his discharge, John is wounded—almost fatally—in combat.
More than two decades after John's tour of duty in the war, Brenda learns what happened to him. She finally understands why he re-enlisted. What happened to Brenda and John has probably happened to others who've fallen in love during wartime.
Reflections of Valour is a satisfying read and a reminder of Vietnam's horror. Its dual message of acceptance and closure will be understood by all whose love was interrupted by war.
Review by Patricia Walkow (February 2022)
Author James Elsener's Reflections of Valour relates the story of two young lovers—John and Brenda—who live in different worlds: she in the rarefied world of elite college and he in the Marine Corps. It is the middle of the Vietnam War, and as they learn more about each other, she prepares to graduate and John decides to re-enlist and continue his service to his country. He does not discuss his decision with Brenda before re-enlisting, and she is angry. They part with harsh words.
John's time in Vietnam is drawn well in this book. He is a forward observer operating in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). James Elsener takes the reader along on missions with John. The author allows us to feel the boredom, fear, and physical discomfort John and his comrades experienced. We come to understand how they relied on each other, liked each other, or just tolerated each other. And we are dismayed when a few months prior to his discharge, John is wounded—almost fatally—in combat.
More than two decades after John's tour of duty in the war, Brenda learns what happened to him. She finally understands why he re-enlisted. What happened to Brenda and John has probably happened to others who've fallen in love during wartime.
Reflections of Valour is a satisfying read and a reminder of Vietnam's horror. Its dual message of acceptance and closure will be understood by all whose love was interrupted by war.
Review by Patricia Walkow (February 2022)
March 3, 2022
Reflections of Valour is a fantastic novel that does a great job describing the life of Marine John Briggs. And the romance with Brenda Kiley was well done. If you want to learn more about what the life of a Vietnam soldier was I recommend this novel. I met the author James Elsener at an author discussion and book signing at Centuries & Sleuths book store in Forest Park, Illinois. He was very nice and knowledgeable about his experiences as a Marine.
Great read!!
Great read!!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews