{"product_id":"9781483547664","title":"The Second Wagon Driver: A Novel of the Vietnam War","description":"Synopsis\u003cbr\u003eTHE SECOND WAGON DRIVER\u003cbr\u003eby\u003cbr\u003eDarcy Vernier\u003cbr\u003eThe Second Wagon Driver is the story of a Marine CH-46 helicopter pilot in Vietnam. \u003cbr\u003eIt has plenty of the action expected in a Vietnam story, but it is also a coming-of-age novel \u003cbr\u003ewhereby the protagonist learns about himself and the world in a very tense time and in a very \u003cbr\u003edangerous occupation. The novel is a continuum of twenty-three stand-alone chapters which \u003cbr\u003edetail a one-year tour with the Marine Corps in the Republic of South Vietnam. The start of \u003cbr\u003eChapter One reads: \u003cbr\u003eHe was the very picture of salty, with the starched USMC cover pulled low over his \u003cbr\u003eeyes, the faded camouflage utilities, the worn but clean jungle boots, his silver 1\/Lt bars \u003cbr\u003eand gold wings the only bright contrast to the faded green and brown of the uniform. He \u003cbr\u003ewas fully aware of his look of combat competence, the look of someone who had been \u003cbr\u003eeverywhere and done it all, the old hand, the tough, wily veteran. He was completely full \u003cbr\u003eof shit. \u003cbr\u003eThe start of Chapter Twenty-Three, the last chapter, reads: \u003cbr\u003eHe was the very picture of salty, with the starched USMC cover pulled low over his \u003cbr\u003eeyes, the faded camouflage utilities, the worn but clean jungle boots, his silver 1\/Lt bars \u003cbr\u003eand gold wings the only bright contrast to the faded green and brown of the uniform. He \u003cbr\u003ewas fully aware of his look of combat competence, the look of someone who had been \u003cbr\u003eeverywhere and done it all, the old hand, the tough, wily veteran. He was every bit of that. \u003cbr\u003eThe intervening chapters trace the transition of 1\/Lt David Crichton and the running \u003cbr\u003ebattle he fights with fears of cowardice contrasted with acts of courage. He is an excellent pilot, \u003cbr\u003ebut probably not the ideal Marine. At various times he flouts the regulations, the occasional \u003cbr\u003edirect order, and shows a massive amount of disrespect to senior officers or anyone else who \u003cbr\u003edoesn’t seem to share his view of the war, and the world at large. \u003cbr\u003eHe seems to have no fear, which is not about having courage. It simply never occurs to \u003cbr\u003ehim that he could be hurt. He goes through some harrowing times: capturing a Russian helicopter \u003cbr\u003eflown by a Chinese pilot, picking up a recon team in direct violation of his commanding officer’s \u003cbr\u003eorders, and spending three days in the bush. \u003cbr\u003eAfter being caught in a zone by mortar and machine-gun fire, he wakes up alone, on the \u003cbr\u003eground, still strapped to his seat but with no aircraft and none of his crew around. He sets out to \u003cbr\u003etry to walk to find the “friendlies” but is captured by an NVA patrol. He kills two soldiers and is \u003cbr\u003ehorrified by the ease with which he was able to do it. Finally, he is picked up and taken back to \u003cbr\u003ehis base. \u003cbr\u003eIn the end, Dave is on his way home, in the “Freedom Bird” headed back to the World, \u003cbr\u003ewhen a Viet Cong fires at his airliner, out of frustration as much as evil intent. One round passes \u003cbr\u003ethrough the belly of the aircraft, through Dave’s seat, and into his body, finishing its journey in \u003cbr\u003ehis heart, killing him instantly. In the epilogue is the comment, “...Vietnam was ours. It shot us \u003cbr\u003ein the ass and broke our hearts...” \u003cbr\u003eMost of this book was written in the early 1970s, but it took forty years for the author to \u003cbr\u003eread it comfortably enough to work with it.","brand":"BookBaby","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47183779234032,"sku":"9781483547664","price":5.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781483547664_p0.jpg?v=1763629754","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781483547664","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}