Fallen Angels : Walter Dean Myers

Aimed at young boys, this book follows the life of 17yr old Richie Perry who is sent to Vietnam after he signs up for the Army. Perry has a knee injury which he though would keep him out of battle, but the paperwork gets misplaced and he is sent to the front lines where faces death for the first time. Perry struggles with wanting to tell his little brother and mother in his letters about the fighting, and wanting to protect them. There is the discrepancy of life in the letters between the soldiers and their loved ones at home. The soldiers worry over petty things back home even though they are fighting for their lives in Vietnam. Perry and his friend not only fight discrimination in their own squad, but have to figure out how to survive and deal with the loss of people that have become brothers in a war they don't understand. While out on patrol Peewee and Perry are attacked and slide into a spider hole to hide. Eventually the Viet Cong comes back to his hole and the boys kill him. They make it to the drop spot and find another one of their squad sitting strangely by a tree, then realize he has a gun trained on him. In a heroic effort the boys take out the Vietcong and get the other boy on the plane when it comes, their injuries are serious enough that they are sent home. Peewee's injury seems unstable, but I think we are meant to assume both boys make it back to the States and live long lives. The book closes with boys on a plane back home.