Codename Litefoot
By Robert A. Boyd
2007
Joining the Airforce at 17 in 1965 military brat and NRA match shootist Robert A. Boyd was to get quite the education about America and the World through his experience in Vietnam.
This book was written nearly 40 years later motivated in part by a VA PTSD therapist. At 700 pages the account is quite detailed - though not exactly erudite his centrist 'average joe' perspective on the issues of the day is illustrative, and very, very, real. This includes frank discussions on sex and race, as well as his perspective on drug & alcohol use 'in-country'.
Personally I found the most meaning in his description of authority within the military. I'm from a totally different, non-military, world yet there is a logic in his experiences that is relevant to my own. Like the author, I too was trained in target shooting at a young age (though it ended with my parents seperation) - this provided a connection that was all the more eerie for me.
It's also added a new term to my lexicon - the REMF, 'Rear Echelon Mother Fucker' - not too mention also learning about the CIA's role in military operations. The detailed descriptions of scout-sniper operations were also quite interesting.
I'm not a consumer of military literature, so it's not really possible for me to compare this to others in the genre. I read this only because i ran into Mr. Boyd by chance - or was it!
