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MWSA Review
Rucksack Grunt is the story of one man's Viet Nam experience as a soldier with the US Army. Robert Kuhn, the author, was that young man, and he tells a tale not unlike what many young teenagers in that era had to endure. Eighteen years old and unsettled with not much direction for his life, Author Kuhn enlisted in the army. Right away he questions his decision, but there is no turning back. The only thing he is sure of is his love for his girlfriend. His decision, however, is taking him away from her. Like most enlistees at the time, he soon finds himself in the infantry and heading to Viet Nam. While there, he is exposed to artillery fire landing nearby, sniper fire zinging by too close, and more than one contact with the enemy. His biggest threat, though, turned out to be from a mosquito. The author contracted malaria and had to be sent to a hospital for treatment. His dream was to survive and return home to marry his sweetheart, but would she wait for him? Author Kuhn's story is a quick read and well worth reading.
Review by Bob Doerr (March 2023)
Author's Synopsis
RUCKSACK GRUNT - A VIETNAM VETERAN'S MEMOIR
A Vietnam War Memoir with an Underlying Love Story.
A narrative about a naïve teenage boy’s evolutionary journey from his safe suburban neighborhood in Pennsylvania to the dangerous Central Highlands in Vietnam to becoming a Vietnam War Veteran as he remembers it and still struggles today to understand it all.
The events of this narrative take place from 1969-1972, beginning with a young teenage boy’s love for and his marriage proposal to his high school sweetheart. Robert then decided that the best path to obtaining an education and a “real” job needed to support their future marriage was through an easy short stint in the US Army. Little did the naïve teenager know that the path to accomplishing his goals would take him through the dangerous jungles and rice paddies of Vietnam during the latter years of the war. Although not a blood and guts war story, this first-hand emotional account details the many traumatic and sometimes distressing encounters of Robert Kuhn, the “rucksack carrying grunt” who served with the 1st Battalion 22nd Infantry unit during his Vietnam tour of duty.
Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle
Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography
Number of Pages: 186
Word Count: 34005