Loose Shadows: The Green on Green Trilogy Part 3

"The Green on Green Trilogy" is a three part saga of the odyssey of an infantry soldier, Michael Landers, to survive the Viet Nam War and get back on with his life. "Loose Shadows" begins as the plane home from Viet Nam descends on Seattle. Landers is seated with two of his seatmates from the plane over to the war, who served in the same line company: Sergeant Haude, the weathered, eternal infantry sergeant, and Spec 4 Alvarez, a draftee like Landers, purportedly about to leave the Army. Even though Landers had resisted the war, even ending up handcuffed to the plane over – the story of Part 1, "Departure" – he is now a sergeant, with an array of combat medals. After two weeks of hanging with surfers in San Diego, he has to go to Ft Hood, Texas, for three months. Virtually the entire unit is young combat returnees, all about to exit the Army. Their street of fifty barracks was dubbed “Little New York”, an apt moniker. Being less than appreciative of the Army, period, when assigned go to Chicago for the 1968 Democratic Presidential Convention, to control anti-war demonstrators, many refuse to go. The government hid it from the media, but knew long before civilians did that their war was dying from within. Landers slips into what he hopes is a simple little romance with a sweet young coed, down in Austin, saying nothing about the Army. She has her own duplicitous ways, and turns out to be the general’s daughter. Both become entwined in Landers’ plot. Alvarez has gone AWOL, descending into torpor of drugs; those who care try to rope him in. Meantime, Landers’ best friend Katrina is still wanted by the FBI. Landers calls on an array of Army and surfer friends to help her escape a insidious FBI agent and clear her name.

The author was drafted in his senior year at UCLA. Did two years, including one year in the field, in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam with 2/8 Infantry, 4th Division, 1967-68; ended up a sergeant. Returned directly to UCLA 3 years on GI Bill. Has written seven novels, a dozen screenplays. Worked along the way in various arts fields: 5 years with architect Frank Gehry, ran several top L.A. art galleries, in film production at major studios for a dozen years. Speaks French, Spanish, Italian and German. Professional piano player, jazz and classical. Lifetime surfer.