Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers

Fallen Angels

By

Walter Dean Myers

Walter Dean Myers wrote the book Fallen Angels. It is about America's experiences in the Vietnam War as told by the main character in the book, Richie Perry. Perry goes through a lot of changes and sees some of his good friends die in battle fighting for a cause that no one could agree upon. The book has 4 other main characters, Lobel, Johnson, Brunner, and Peewee.

The book starts off talking about the experiences of Perry while he is serving in Vietnam. His best friend, Peewee becomes instant friends with each other when they meet in the barracks. Peewee helps Perry by standing up for him during several disputes. Peewee and Perry wake up the next morning and find out that they are to go on patrol in order to search out and destroy any Vоet Cфng soldiers that they encounter. The patrol lasts for a few hours and Peewee and Perry are just about to camp, when a mutual friend of Peewee and Perry drops out of formation for a second and steps on a land mine, killing him instantly. Perry is so upset by this and needs Peewee to help him talk out his feelings of grief for the loss of the friend. Peewee and Perry have a few days to rest, because they have a weekend pass and it grants them 48 hours of freedom. They go to Saigon and have a few drinks and generally have fun, before they have to report back to their unit, which is stationed in the northern highlands of South Vietnam. When they return, they are happy that they made good use of their weekend passes in Saigon.

The next day, Peewee and Perry are sent on another patrol, but this time they are sent in by helicopter. They are sent to an area known to have active Vоet Cфng troops in the vicinity. It does not take long for the patrol to run into a huge unit of Vоet Cфng in a rice paddy. They end up getting into a firefight for their very lives. Perry and Peewee shoot a few Vоet Cфng soldiers, before the firefight ends in a draw, with neither side gaining a clear victory. The toll for the unit is 2 dead out of a 10 man unit, including one of Perry's friends. When the troops are taken back to camp, Peewee and Perry talk about the experiences that they have gained from the firefight that they had with the Vоet Cфng soldiers and what was going through their minds at the time of the firefight.

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