I found myself engulfed in this memoir of Don Hall. I was taken in right from the beginning when Don and his younger brother, Mike, were dropped off by his drunken father at a Catholic orphanage. I, too was brought up in Catholic schools, served as an altar boy, and was sometimes "terrorized" by the nuns. I found the beginning of Don's story intriguing because I never knew anyone who lived in an orphanage. When I was young and delivered newspapers, I had a couple of "youth homes" on my route; one was for girls only and the other for boys. When coming in contact with residents, they were always cheerful and carefree. So I was shocked to learn how these young boys were treated.

There were many times that I laughed during this portion of the book, especially when Don or his brother described their feelings or surrounding events; not aware of Catholicism, they initially thought the nuns were "witches" and killing kids, shrinking them and then hanging them on pieces of wood throughout the home (crucifixes). Many of his anecdotes relating to church, religion, and his environment were comical at first. It didn't take long for the nuns to bully the kids, at times, outright punching them in the face and drawing blood. Punishment was to be locked up in the second floor linen closet for hours at a time. Eventually, Don grows up and is able to fight back - putting the meanest nun in a headlock and flipping her over his back in retaliation for beating his younger brother.

Don eventually drops out of school and joins the Army. His tour of duty starts out with the infantry - humping endlessly through the bush and being led by incompetent leaders. He found his way out of this mess by volunteering for the LRRP unit, acceptance was not automatic and Don had to successfully complete a very regimented training course. Failure to do so would result in his returning to the infantry units - this was all the motivation he needed.

I am also a former Army Grunt and could relate to many of Don's experience with "The Herd". However, while reading of Don's experiences in the LRRP units, I realized, early on in the book that I was going to gain an education about these special soldiers; and I did! I have great respect for these men and for how they operate - often outnumbered, scores of enemy soldiers standing only several feet away...this takes a special kind of person.

Don also finds that all leaders are not carved from the same tree. His first CO in the LRRP unit was like a father figure and always watched over his men...doing everything in their best interest. After he leaves, the new CO's indifference and often drunken state causes the teams in the field to be at great risk. He was more interested in body counts and glory than he was in following protocol that ensures the safety of those men in the bush. This attitude sometimes resulted in team injuries and death - something he would not admit was his fault. I can relate to Don's feelings about his superiors and have found officers I've served with to fall out of the same good and bad barrels.

"I served" is a must read novel. Don and his wife, Annette, have conceived a masterpiece - one that leaves me with a sense of awe, admiration and thankfulness for those volunteers, whose actions and bravery saved the lives of many grunts in the jungles of Vietnam. Thank you for your service and Welcome Home Brother!

John Podlaski, Author
Cherries - A Vietnam War Novel ( )