Ben Sherman

I love memoirs about the Vietnam War. This is another fantastic point of view of the war from an American conscientious objector who still served with the 9th Infantry division in the Mekong Delta. As a Medic (1968), near the end of the war, he helped many of the last soldiers in heavy action as troops numbers began to be drawn down. Sherman worked at Disneyland as a Goofy cast member before being drafted. Only a few books have been written by drafted combat soldiers from the Vietnam War. Sherman was an English major in school so the writing is nicely to the point--soldierly. Like many memoirs, this narrative seems far fetched but still accurate as he says that he changed all the real names. Due to that this is technically not a true memoir, but still worth reading. Trying to draw out the remaining good things from an anguish filled tour of duty is what most Vietnam War memoirs try to offer. Sherman's recollections are apt, concise, and emotionally true. As I worked in ERs, I saw the similarities with battlefield conditions. Medics have no access to blood (besides expanders mentioned in other books) so the rule was to stop the bleeding if possible and remove the wounded before the medic himself was killed in action. There is a scene with a chaplain whom Sherman consults as a Conscientious Objector, but this chaplain does not come off well. Sherman says he intentionally went into combat without a rifle. Due to language & subject matter, not for young adults.… (meer)