A review by kpickens512
A Rumor Of War by Philip Caputo

5.0

This is one of those books that changed writing about war, but our generation questioned all the values during 1960s and early 1970s. I am old enough to remember the war protests, and I volunteered one summer at the local VA hospital mental ward so I first hand the effects of war. The book starts when the main character is enlisted as an officer in the marines, indoctrinated into the system, and then starts questioning the purpose of the war versus the lose of life. Watching young men blown into unrecognizable masses and their lives cut short, the impact on their families, as well as the other soldiers makes for emotional conflict. And if you were raised Catholic and brought up to believe every person is the image of God, how do you reconcile your religious beliefs with your orders to kill?