"Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers is the story of several black soldiers' lives during the Vietnam War. Richie Perry, Lobel, Johnson, Brunner, and Pewee have come to Vietnam to accomplish their own personal goals, but while in Vietnam find out that they have the common goal of surviving. As the story progresses friendships and deaths affect how each character reacts to the stresses that they receive, and must fight through in Vietnam.
"Fallen Angels" takes place in Vietnam in 1968. This is during the intense fighting that occurred in the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War was a fight between the North Vietnamese and the South Vietnamese. Communism was attempting to move it way south and America has decided to intervene. Also aiding the North Vietnamese are the Vietcong, who are guerilla terrorist stationed throughout South Vietnam. Each of the several major characters are brought together by the war, and because of it they are fighting for their lives.
Propaganda leaflet urging the defection of NLF and...
Scene of Viet Cong terrorist bombing in Saigon, Re...
Viet Cong soldiers carry a litter with injured Ame...The story follows Richie Perry, who is usually called Perry, all over the country. After landing in Tan Son Nhut, Perry is sent to Chu Lai, another army base in Vietnam. From there, the soldiers travel through many small Vietnamese villages in attempts to stop the Vietcong and the North Vietnamese army. As the new soldiers find out, they do not fit in the setting of the Vietnamese jungles. Perry uses four words to describe the conditions there, "Hot. Muggy. Bright. Muggy" (Walter Dean Myers 7). This shows the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the conditions Perry and his fellow soldiers face while in Nam. Diseases, leeches, and the daily rain showers all contribute to making their lives miserable. Growing up in the United States, you do not get those kinds of heat, humidity, or diseases. They...