Fallen Angels
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The book starts off talking about the experiences of Perry while he is serving in Vietnam. His best friend, Peewee becomes instant friends with each other when they meet in the barracks. Peewee helps Perry by standing up for him during several disputes. Peewee and Perry wake up the next morning and find out that they are to go on patrol in order to search out and destroy any VĂŸet CĂâng soldiers that they encounter. The patrol lasts for a few hours and Peewee and Perry are just about to camp, when a mutual friend of Peewee and Perry drops out of formation for a second and steps on a land mine, killing him instantly. Perry is so upset by this and needs Peewee to help him talk out his feelings of grief for the loss of the friend. Peewee and Perry have a few days to rest, because they have a weekend pass and it grants them 48 hours of freedom. They go to Saigon and have a few drinks and generally have fun, before they have to report back to their unit, which is stationed in the northern highlands of South Vietnam. When they return, they are happy that they made good use of their weekend passes in Saigon.
The next day, Peewee and Perry are sent on another patrol, but this time they are sent in by helicopter. They are sent to an area known to have active VĂŸet CĂâng troops in the vicinity. It does not take long for the patrol to run into a huge unit of VĂŸet CĂâng in a rice paddy. They end up getting into a firefight for their very lives. Perry and Peewee shoot a few VĂŸet CĂâng soldiers, before the firefight ends in a draw, with neither side gaining a clear victory. The toll for the unit is 2 dead out of a 10 man unit, including one of Perrys friends. When the troops are taken back to camp, Peewee and Perry talk about the experiences that they have gained from the firefight that they had with the VĂŸet CĂâng soldiers and what was going through their minds at the time of the firefight.
A few days later, Peewee, Perry, and a few other soldiers are sent out in a patrol to sweep out VĂŸet CĂâng positions on a hill that overlooks the American camp. The patrol that is sent out is so badly organized that when it meets a VĂŸet CĂâng patrol, the entire unit falls apart and Peewee and Perry find themselves on the hill, with none of their comrades in sight. Peewee and Perry hear something and hide in a small cave, hoping to evade capture. A VĂŸet CĂâng soldier stands above looking around