Overview

Coming of Age in Vietnam Many words have been written about this country's military involvement in Vietnam, thousands of miles from the United States. Jamie Boss's new book is a personal memoir of war during the years 1968 and 1969, twelve months of life taken away from him by the Army. Jamie was 19 when he was drafted and reported for duty. His future assignment out of boot camp would be to report to Vietnam as a wheeled/track mechanic. He was married and would become a father while in Vietnam, coming home to meet a son he had not yet held. Coming of Age in Vietnam begins in April 1968, when Jamie lands in Ton Son Nhat Airport. He admits, ""Vietnam was a mystery to me,"" and questions his reason for being there: ""Why would our country ask us to risk death for reasons so casually explained to us?"" Challenging questions to deal with at 19, especially since there were no answers. ""I never had a discussion with my peers about winning,"" he writes. One thing he did know -- he didn't want to be the new guy in camp. That title came with a guaranteed bad work detail. Everyone there before your arrival had suffered through the new guy detail. Jamie's initial reaction to the jungle as he had flown over it was noting the vibrant and different shades of green. ""The people were small...their homes squalid."" On his ride to camp, he saw small huts with no running water or electricity and rice fields everywhere. At camp, he heard his orders: ""Specialist Boss First Division, The Big Red One."" That division was headquartered in Lai Khe, near Ben Cat, ""a place one should avoid if at all humanly possible."" Lia Khe was known as ""danger forward"", meaning very close to ""the action"". ""Whenever a tank, personnel carrier, self-propelled gun, or howitzer broke down in the field, we would have to grab a toolbox, hop in a jeep or helicopter, and make our way into the field for the repair."" Obstacles varied - there were land mines, mortar rounds, booby traps, rocket fire, and the ever-present enemy sniper. Jamie's mission every day was to live to see another one, and complete his twelve months in one piece, and alive. Dying was something you thought about every day, Jamie wrote. Though the war had no real boundaries, one learned to be vigilant and aware of surroundings. Soldiers on duty with you became your friends, companions and brothers in arms. Jamie's book includes lighter moments. He had told his Dad that if he wanted to send him something, he'd love his twelve-string guitar shipped to him. Months passed, and two Military Police ""showed up and asked if I was Specialist Boss."" After confirming his identity, he was taken to Battalion headquarters, where a sergeant major asked him about a large box in the room addressed to him. ""What the hell is this, Boss?"" Plywood, in the unmistakable shape of a coffin. The Sargent Major handed him a hammer and a crowbar, and the MPs had their hands on their pistols. With the directive, ""Open it,"" it revealed: ""a nicely packed guitar case."" Coming of Age in Vietnam is a compelling memoir, with powerful words and personal photographs, each of which tell a story on their own. The book is available on Amazon, from the author, and at Fletcher Memorial Library. The author of the book's Forward is correct when he states: ""You won't be able to put it down."" I couldn't. Juan Arriola Editor, Hampton Gazette

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