I have read many Vietnam war memoirs and tributes, This one is decidedly short on the connection to the soldier being remembered because there is so much historical teaching surrounding him. A small fragment of the book is actually about Michael O’Donnell, and the majority is a history lesson about the Vietnam war. I would rather read multiple memoirs/biographies and learn pieces of information in each one than to have so many facts and figures and so much political commentary that I lose sight of the man or woman I am trying to read about.

This is a story of an MIA soldier who waited for decades to come home. I wanted to feel more for him, to read his poems and songs that were repeatedly mentioned, and to genuinely grieve his loss and the disservice that our country did to him by not bringing him home sooner.

4.5/5-Minor Spoilers

‘...when we land too hard or get torn, from the outside or within we spill out and stain the hands of everyone who knew us...’-25 Oct 1969

A historical account of the Vietnam war, in particular Michael O’ Donnell, a helicopter pilot who perished in Cambodia in 1970. O’ Donnell distinguished himself from others who served, by expressing his loneliness, fear, and frustration through music and poetry, all while yearning to be home. Weiss sews other authored poems in through his vigorous research ranging from Vietminh to Confederacy, All of them play a important role in this publication, linking sorrowful combatant experiences to the war that was taking place at home.