The Mad Fragger and Me describes the true experiences of a U.S. soldier throughout his military training, culminating in combat as an Infantry Rifle Platoon Leader in Vietnam. Former 1st Lieutenant Tom Dolan takes the reader on a vivid armchair tour of sometimes grueling 1969 Army training. He includes character sketches and anecdotes, with emphasis on leadership insights provided by military mentors and his own related epiphanies. This literary journey continues as an articulate, poignant, sometimes graphically violent and often humorous account of the grunts in 2nd Platoon, B Company, 1/20th Infantry, who struggled to dominate Quang Ngai Province units of the North Vietnamese Army in 1971.
This book is primarily a tribute to these youthful soldiers, including a representative one known as The Mad Fragger, who had the character to do much more than just show up for an unpopular war. They knew the Vietnam War had already been forfeited by American politicians, but they nevertheless fought with courage and distinction due to their common bond of brotherhood.
The author candidly describes the problems he encountered, including systemic deficiencies, leadership failures, lapses in discipline and the inconsistency of the military establishment in addressing these issues.
"The book is thoroughly engaging to one completely uninitiated with the Army life and terminology, it is humorous at all the right times, and it is profoundly intimate in a real human sense. I found my ignorance and turmoiled emotions moved in a very good direction." - Patricia Bonnell "From someone who continually reads non-fiction books about Vietnam, this one rates way up the list on the "this is how it really was" scale. Dolan lays out his experience in a manner that eliminates the "embellishment" factor. At first it seemed a little long in the training phase, but that came into focus during the combat phase. Good book." - Tim Karbowski "I purchased this book for my husband who is a DAV and Purple Heart recipient of the Viet Nam war. He said it is exactly how things were over there and explains just what he went through. He told me I HAVE to read it!!" - "Grandmat02" "This book is late on the scene in regards to Vietnam but I would highly recommend this book. It brought back memories." - J. Bando
