On Point: A Rifleman's Year in the Boonies, 1967-1968

In the fall of 1967, baby-faced, mild-mannered Roger Hayes went to Vietnam--with one year of college and one year of basic training behind him. And there, on the strange and savage battlefield, amidst the dying and the loss, Roger Hayes became a warrior, a leader and a comrade--foraging friendships that would be among the strongest of his life.

In this fascinating, penetrating diary of a young rifleman in Vietnam, Hayes takes us through a tour of duty with a mechanized infantry unit in the 5th Infantry during America's bloodiest year of fighting in the Vietnam War. here are the ambushed and mortar attacks, moments of terror and moments of camaraderie that made up one soldier's education in war. At the same time, On Point captures a young man's awakening to his own inner resources: to the courage, skill, and self-reliance that made him the right man for the most dangerous job in the world.