WE WERE SOLDIERS ONCE... AND YOUNG

For buffs of military history who like lots of action with descriptions of ground tactics, weapons, bleeding wounds, and pure terror, this discussion of the first engagement between American troops and the Viet Cong in 1965 will not disappoint. Johnny Heller's sandy voice keeps up with the action in all respects, and the pace keeps building with the casualties. Heller can be understood easily and is well suited to a story made of many smaller ones. The grammar lacks sophistication ("He was hit bad."), and the delivery tends to be simple, but we feel lucky to be hearing the exact remembrances in elegant detail of combatants who survived a four-day battle that not many walked away from. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 01]