The author enlisted in the Marine Corps at 17, with dreams of becoming a hero. Two years later, a disillusioned young sergeant returned from a tour of Vietnam, his new assignment, recruiting: finding a "few good men" for the Corps—and soon, too often, delivering death messages to the families of those he had recruited. Here are gut-wrenching memories of a Marine's service in Vietnam, the grief of the parents, and the burden of guilt suffered by the bearer of the news.