Introduction; Private First Class Reginald Edwards; Specialist 5 Harold Bryant Summary and Analysis

In 1967, Wallace Terry is working for TIME magazine when he receives an assignment to go to Vietnam to cover the role black soldiers are playing in the war. At the time, the type of black soldiers is changing. The career soldiers have been used up and draftees are coming to Vietnam fresh from the Civil Rights movement in the United States. The new soldiers do not tolerate discrimination and call for unity among black soldiers. They name themselves "Bloods." The story of black veterans is unique. They fought in Vietnam while many close to them were fighting at home for the rights soldiers were dying to defend.

Reginald, often called Malik, is sent into Cam Ne with orders to level the village. Malik is trained...