''Platoon Leader'' is a

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

by James R. McDonough.Ash, Jim
"Corrections chief has faced uphill battle"
''

The News-Press ''The News-Press'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper located in Fort Myers, Florida, serving primarily Lee County, as well as parts of Hendry, Collier, and Charlotte Counties. The paper publishes several editions of its "Local & State" (metr ...

'' (Bonita and Collier), Fort Myers, Florida, 122nd year, number 286, 9 October 2006, page B3. It is narrated by McDonough in first person view and tells of his story in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

as a lieutenant in command of 2nd Platoon, Bravo Company, 4th Battalion, 503rd Infantry(Airborne). It was loosely adapted into the 1988 film ''

Platoon Leader A platoon leader (NATO) or platoon commander (more common in Commonwealth militaries and the US Marine Corps) is the officer in charge of a platoon. This person is usually a junior officer – a second or first lieutenant or an equivalent rank ...

''.

Plot introduction

''Platoon Leader'' is a true story told by James R. McDonough, a Vietnam War veteran. The book takes place in and around a fort near a Vietnamese village in Binh Dinh province. It is McDonough's retelling of his time in Vietnam. He wrote the book as an officer development tool while he was a battalion commander.

Plot summary

The author, James R. McDonough, introduces the book as a story of an "American platoon leader in combat." James McDonough begins the story with a brief introduction and the summary of his childhood in New York and decision to enter the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

at West Point, New York. After graduating West Point,

Ranger School The Ranger School is a 62-day United States Army small unit tactics and leadership course that develops functional skills directly related to units whose mission is to engage the enemy in close combat and direct fire battles. Ranger training w ...

, and infantry officer basic course, Lieutenant McDonough leaves his wife and infant son and deploys to Vietnam as part of the Vietnam War. Two of his classmates sit beside him on the flight over to the combat zone. After meeting a shell-shocked first lieutenant from the same unit to which he is assigned, he soon takes command of his first platoon. McDonough soon meets Sergeant First Class Hernandez, his former Ranger school instructor and now platoon sergeant. Friction develops between the two after McDonough takes control during an attack on their platoon area of operations. Eventually Hernandez is transferred out of the platoon after a suspected assault on a female Viet Cong member who the platoon had taken as a prisoner of war. He receives another platoon sergeant, Sergeant First Class Palloman who is a much better soldier relative to Hernandez, and is very willing to go on patrol. McDonough's unit continues to face combat from the Viet Cong, through ambushes while on patrol, and through conventional attacks on their base. During McDonough's last days with the platoon, the village the platoon is protecting is violently assaulted by the Viet Cong, and many civilians are killed. As McDonough leaves, he feels the War is and has been a lost cause. McDonough faces a variety of morally ambiguous situations throughout the book. Eventually he completes his tour and returns home to his wife and son to continue his Army career.

References

1985 non-fiction books Vietnam War memoirs {{Vietnam-war-memoir-stub