Traces of a Lost War

by Richard Barone

During the height of the Vietnam War, the U.S. Army resorted to a bait-and-switch scam that recruited thousands of unsuspecting college graduates into its combat ranks. This is the story of two of its... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0975471104
• ISBN13: 9780975471104
• Release Date: April 2008
• Publisher: Canto 34 Press
• Length: 312 Pages
• Weight: 1.04 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A very different take on the Vietnam War

Richard Barone's "Traces of a Lost War" is not just another book about someone's experience of war. It is--as the author explains on the dust jacket--a story about two victims of a "bait and switch scam" carried out by the United States Army during the Vietnam War. According to the author, officer candidates were recruited into the Army with the explicit promise of assignment to the Army's Signal Corps. Instead, the unsuspecting young men were quickly shuffled off to the regular combat infantry... and the jungles of Vietnam. At the outset, the book covers two men's experiences while attending the Army's Infantry School in Fort Benning, GA. Barone then covers the young men's very different experiences in Vietnam and their eventual return to "the world." The sequences in Vietnam include detailed, realistic, gripping and gritty recounting of combat in Vietnam in 1968-69. However, this book is much more than a mere accounting of a swindle perpetrated by the US military. Nor is it simply a memoir of the author's combat experiences in Vietnam. About half-way through this book, the reader begins to discern that Traces' main character is on a journey that will take him to very different and unexpected places. It is at times artistic, brutal, philosophical, impenetrable, mysterious, religious, and carnal. Much of the "action" takes place far from the field of battle and Traces is often evocative of the bizarre and nihilistic Vietnam portrayed in Francis Ford Coppola's iconic "Apocalypse Now." Readers unfamiliar with the various schools of art (to which the author frequently refers), might find themselves baffled by expressions such as "Mondrian idealism" or "true Dada." These certainly have meaning to the book's main character, Andrew D'Orio, as he struggles to reconcile his artistic and philosophical makeup with the brutal and surreal world he faces as a combat infantryman in Vietnam. The reader should expect frank depictions of combat, drug use, and sex... not all of which is "traditional." In the end, the book may provide more questions than answers. Richard Barone's "Traces of a Lost War" is a well-written and worthwhile read. John Cathcart Reviewer for the Military Writers Society of America ([...]) and Author of Delta 7

Genuine and Not-for-Profit

This is a significant book which raises many questions about the use of art to portray war. Published independently for good reasons, it challenges not only the conduct of the war, but also those that profited from it, especially publishers and writers. This is interesting in light of the fact that journalists now think of themselves as the real heroes of the Vietnam War. For a truly genuine portrayal of the war that doesn't resort to dramatic devices to make a profit (something impossible on the battlefield), I highly recommend this book.

Traces can weigh heavily ....

Traces can weigh more heavily upon the heart of an individual more than a full bag of sand. This idea never occurred to young Andrew D'Oria when he graduated from college and enlisted in the United States Army for the express purpose of attending Officer Candidate School. As with most best laid plans, this also went awry. Andrew soon found himself as a radio operator in an infantry company in Vietnam. Along with Andrew we follow the life of his friend Eliot Penman who set out on the same path as Andrew, but traced his own path through life and war. How do they end and how many times do their paths intersect? Read this book and learn some of how we grow and live and learn and carry the burdens of life. In Richard Barone's first book he has crafted a great story. To any veteran, especially of the United States Army, of the modern era this book rings of a genuineness that can be given only by someone who has served. This is best exemplified by his criticism of statuary that incorrectly portrays how a soldier carries a weapon. Soldiers see these things. This is not to say this book should be bypassed by those who haven't such a background. This book is written in such a style that any reader can feel a part of the story and become one with any or all of the characters so well designed. They come to life and soon the reader forgets where he is and finds himself on patrol in the steaming jungle. This reviewer has read several books of experiences during the Vietnam War and its aftermath. Mr. Barone's work definitely ranks at the top of this list.

Barone takes the reader on an intimate and terrible journey into the heart of an old war . . .

TRACES OF A LOST WAR By Richard Barone What is left of the Vietnam War? In history? In memory? Some truths are better revealed through fiction than non fiction, and Traces of a Lost War, a new book by Vietnam vet Richard Barone is a powerful testament to this often unrecognized truth. Rather than engaging in the usual polemics and posturing about the Vietnam experience, its intentions, its execution and aftermath, Barone takes the reader on an intimate and terrible journey into the heart of an old war, revealing in chilling and undeniable detail the delusions on which the war was justified, planned, carried and reported on, while at the same time giving the reader a brilliant and unforgettable portrait of two soldiers' devastating experiences in coping with combat and with the military administration they serve. Traces of a Lost War is a unique piece of fiction that looks at the Vietnam war and, by proxy, all modern wars--in the rear view mirror. The portrait of the war is seen through the misadventures of two soldiers who are friends: Drew, an artist, and Eliot, a writer. Anyone who has spent time with Vietnam veterans and listened to their stories will find the descriptions of army life and combat in Vietnam both accurate and familiar. (For those unfamiliar with military abbreviations there is a glossary in back.) The author has included his own personal experiences in Vietnam and the text contains detailed descriptions of heavy combat operations by Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, 1968-1969. The book struggles to recapture not only the events, but the sights, smells, emotions and textures of a war we have largely buried and forgotten. As the two young soldiers cope with the unfolding disaster in Vietnam, their artistic and writing talents are tapped to reinforce the official version of what is happening--but at the same time they struggle with words and images and philosophies that can help them document and live with what they have experienced. The price men like this paid in the service of their country is incalculable, and the debt we owe them and their modern counterpart is enormous. The resolution of the novel, like the resolution of the war itself seems tangled and incomplete. Nevertheless, the reader is left with a vision of this war that is impossible to forget, and for an American reader, impossible to disown. Vietnam combat veterans as well as citizens who wish to have a deeper understanding of the scars that Vietnam left on the American experience will appreciate this book. The author and publisher will be donating all profits from the sale of Traces... to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.