Walking Point: From the Ashes of the Vietnam War; A Memoir

Countless memoirs by Vietnam veterans have appeared since the early 1970s, but few noteworthy personal Vietnam accounts have been published in the 21st century—a situation that Ulander rectifies with his first book. This is a captivating, introspective, enlightening look at the author’s nerve-racking one-year tour of duty (1969–1970) with the 173rd Airborne as a drafted Army infantryman. The narrative adheres to the standard war memoir structure: a chronological personal recounting, beginning with basic training, concentrating on what happened in the war zone, and ending with his return home. Ulander makes that format seem new and original at virtually every step—especially his evocations of the many months he spent slogging through the jungle. The main themes include Ulander’s conquest of the physical and emotional burdens of fighting in that war, his and his fellow grunts’ use of marijuana to cope, and the young draftee troops’ bitter resentment of gung-ho lifer officers who often endangered the men’s lives—callously and unnecessarily—and otherwise made their tour unnecessarily miserable. Ulander’s fine memoir should take a place among the best works in the Vietnam War autobiographical canon. (May)