By; Walter Dean Meyers
In the book the Falling Angels the Viet Cong had a very unique way of fighting. It matched up perfectly with the surroundings. Also the body count was a very unique way of finding out who was winning the war. Due to the fact they could only count so many because on the terrain they could only find so many. The overall outlook on the war was a horrible and scary experience for anyone just due to the terrain. The Viet Cong would go into the civilian’s villages and harasses them which is a horrible way of fighting a war. When they would do this it made it very difficult for the Americans to communicate with them due to the harassment. The Americans just wanted to go into the villages with no fighting but in the end that also ended up the opposite. They would always get into a battle and they even saw a baby decapitated. When they would go into villages it was made very difficult to spot enemies because they could be normal civilians with hidden weapons and even the enemy could be camping out right outside of the village. This was a major problem in pacification missions.
The first kill of Perry was a very gruesome description and a scary thought for any American. When Perry becomes face to face with the enemy he is first very lucky the enemy’s gun was jammed or that could have been the end for him. When he finally kills the Viet Cong he isn’t sure what happened. This makes the war really confusing to Americans because they don’t even know what they are fighting for.
For hearing someone’s death is a horrible sound and is something I’m sure any American couldn’t every get out there heads. For the Americans who died next to their comrades was a horrible thing. When Perry is hurt and being evacuated by the chopper and hearing Brewster screaming Americans don’t know what that is like. Once someone hears the body bags