First Light

A very different military novel. FIRST LIGHT is the story of Kenneth McKenzie, faced with conflicting issues of duty and responsibility as an infantry platoon leader. Its as if the Graduate has joined the army and is confronted with All Quiet on the Western Front. The chain of command demands adherence to orders but McKenzie soon finds his soldiers need protection from the fealty he owes to superior officers. Like most battalion commanders in 1968, Colonel Fishmuth, commissioned after Korea, having never led a platoon or company into combat, is in command of a full battalion of four line companies and a recon platoon. This is his only war. First light is that discreet time of morning when dawn breaks apart the dangerous night. Soldiers are tempted to relax although it is the most dangerous time; the time when a cunning enemy likes to attack. McKenzie must learn how to be a leader of kid soldiers and deal with his own fears. FIRST LIGHT becomes a metaphor for his own journey to discover who in the chain of command above him is dangerous and when duty trumps loyalty to his troops. McKenzie volunteers to go to Vietnam early to secure a guarantee he will be assigned to the First Air Cavalry Division, a premier fighting unit in Vietnam, foregoing any other training such as jungle, ranger or airborne schools. He intends to rely on his country upbringing and common sense, a position that he soon discovers is maligned by most career officers. When McKenzie is assigned to Delta Company, 1st of the 5th, the battalion commander, Colonel Fishmuth, greets him with disdain because McKenzie is not only a 2nd Lieutenant but he has no specialty school patches on his uniform. McKenzie begins to think he has made a big mistake and that no one will take care of him but himself. Adding to his sense of aloneness is the fact that he will be known in the field, not as Lieutenant McKenzie but by his radio call sign; one six (1-6). This anonymity is soon juxtaposed with feelings of love and respect for his men. Captain Moore, the company commander, who's call sign is six(6), is an extremely competent West Point officer, having his own troubles with Colonel Fishmuth. They have been involved in a long struggle over tactics. Within weeks of McKenzie arriving, Delta Company walks into the bottom of a narrow draw with a trickling stream and is ambushed by a brutal crossfire of Chinese machine guns. This incidence foreshadows a conflict for McKenzie between following orders or making his own decision as the situation dictates. Lieutenant McKenzie, now one-six, sees and hears the chaos but is told to move back and secure a sight for medical evacuation. When a body is brought back, McKenzie sees it is Private White, the soldier who sat next to him on the flight over from Fort Lewis. Suddenly, the war makes no sense and he has almost a full year left on his tour of duty.Eventually the conflicts between Captain Moore and Colonel Fishmuth result in the company commander being transferred to an ignominious job in the rear and McKenzie is sent to Echo Company to lead the recon platoon. Clashes with Colonel Fishmuth become more personal and eventually McKenzie is transferred to Bravo Company where he is confronted with a company commander who is a worthless sycophant. McKenzie's need to protect his soldiers becomes even more heightened. McKenzie is eventually transferred to Charlie Company, a unit with a competent company commander. His hatred for Colonel Fishmuth festers. He is consumed with thoughts of revenge. It is a compelling story of one man's struggle with the experience of war. It is not heroic but there are medals. It is a sad, frightening, uplifting and realistic picture of what every man confronts when taken away from a civilized world and thrown into a confusing war of little purpose and conflicting motives, fought by kids who must grow up too early and a career military looking to make up for too many years of peace.