In 1967, Pat Walls was a typical eighteen-year-old from San Diego who wanted nothing more than to continue his laid-back beach life. But the reality of a 1A draft classification loomed, so the answer was clear: to enlist and figure out a way into a cushy assignment. As the base mailman for a small Army unit in Germany, he did such a good job that he was promotedatriggering a classic military snafu that lands him in aNam. What unfolds is a spectrum of his unique war-time experiences, contrasting comical moments against the misery of battle. One moment, he is retreating through waist-high mud while miraculously dodging fire from a charging enemy right on his heelsa]the next, he is struggling to give an ammo lecture to a group of South Vietnamese Army officers who donat understand a word of English. Pat still isnat quite sure how he survived that year in aNam, but he doesnat question it, knowing youare better lucky than dead.