Franklin Allen Leib

I have read many books about the Vietnam War, and don’t know how I overlooked this book which was written almost 30-years ago? Fire Dream is a story that engulfs readers in an emotional roller coaster ride. The story begins during SERE training, where it’s difficult to differentiate between reality and training…it’s so real! Later, many of the characters participating in this training cross paths again in Vietnam.

The battles are so realistic that breaks from reading will be necessary to get through it. I found myself invested in the main characters who came together in Vietnam and shared in their many experiences as if I were right there with them. Almost feeling like I knew them personally, I was deeply saddened when they were injured. A deep bond developed between these men…one that is very natural and duplicated throughout the many units in the war zone. I was also deeply moved when the LT visited Simon in LA…their sharing of a common love, pride and remembrance had no boundaries.

I highly recommend Fire Dream to anyone having experienced the camaraderie of military service in a war zone. Reading it will awaken many emotions and memories from those days long ago.… (mehr)

The House Of Pain was an interesting read for several reasons. At the center of this novel is the affect of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder suffered by the main character, Crazy Johnny Dietrich, who served in the Marines during the Vietnam War. Crazy Johnny was a "tunnel rat", the first to enter a bunker when one was found. The tunnel rat was also the most likely to be blown up or maimed if the tunnel was adequately booby trapped to escape the Marine's inspection. When his God-daughter is kidnapped, Crazy Johnny is called upon by the girl's father to lend the family the money to pay the ransom. It is an indication of Edward Collins', the kidnapped girl's father, that even though the ransom figure quoted to him was $500,000, he told Johnny he needed $1 million to get his daughter back.

The novel goes on to explore the relationship between veterans of the Marine Corps in the book long after they came home from Vietnam. The book also explores the moral issues involved in a crime gone wrong. Who bears responsibility for what, and where is punishment the most effective result? In fact, should there be any punishment at all in the face of what appears to be overwhelming evidence.

Treatment of Veterans is always a timely topic, so even though this novel concerns the Vietnam war, the issues surrounding the service our brave soldiers provided their country and the country's response to the multitude of problems they may have to overcome as a result of that service remains a hot button subject. There's also the matter of the law and whether justice is really served if jurisprudence is closely followed.

I thought the questions posed by this book were interesting and provocative. In addition, Leib effortlessly drew me into his story, and Crazy Johnny Dietrich will be a character that's difficult to forget.… (mehr)