Soldier Boys

Japan. Spring 1951. Phillips, an adolescent National Guardsman and driver for Able Battery CO Captain Wylie, is caught in a power struggle between First Sergeant Radick, Wylie's boss in civilian life, and Lieutenant Briscoe, an ROTC officer. Harsh training, obsolete equipment, and mistakes--aggravated by personal hatreds--lead to accidents, fights, sexual intrigues, deaths, and a bizarre shooting incident that brings on a military inquiry in which Phillips is a key witness. Combat in Korea looms for Phillips and his teenage comrades. He is fearful but wants to be a good soldier. He's aided by Private Green, a slick draftee from New York, and Sergeant Agee, a WW II retread. Later in Korea the boys are bloodied in battle and undergo severe strains as casualties mount. Phillips receives his baptism of fire in a Chinese attack where he must kill to survive and save human decency for another time and place.