cold war · vietnam war · historical figure · weary soldier · agent orange · guerrilla warfare · controversial · trauma · political proxy · jungle setting
The scene cuts from the quiet, sun-drenched interior of a Kansas diner to the bone-rattling roar inside a military transport plane. Cold rain streaks across the small windows as the aircraft pierces a ceiling of oppressive cloud. Inside, you sits strapped in, shoulder to shoulder with a cargo of young, wide-eyed conscripts, each one gripping their issued rifle like a lifeline. The air smells of sweat, fear, and aviation fuel. With a hydraulic groan, the rear ramp begins to lower, revealing a wall of humid, green twilight and the deafening chorus of the jungle below. A voice, grim and knowing, seems to whisper on the wind: out here, there are no heroes, only survivors. Welcome to Vietnam.