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Like most Americans in the 1950s, Caputo grew up knowing little of Asia and virtually nothing of Vietnam. ... Under intense criticism because of his escalation of the war, Johnson did not seek re-election in 1968 and, for over half a decade, the Nixon administration found itself trapped, like Caputo and thousands of young men in the jungles of Vietnam. ... Caputo came from a middle class family in Westchester, Illinois. ... There was no fighting, no enemy, and for Caputo, no war. ...
As the weeks went by, however, Caputo and his men encountered increasing enemy hostility and realized that they were involved in a type of guerilla warfare that was foreign to them and which they misunderstood. ... In May of 1965, Caputo, then a lieutenant, was reassigned to the position of assistant adjutant, an administrative officer in the Regimental Headquarters Company in Danang. ... The staff, on the other hand, seemed to be nothing more than a military organization, a soulless, bloodless thing," Caputo later wrote. ...
Caputo was transferred to the line company in 1st Battalion and commanded the platoon with a new sense of adventure and a thirst for vengeance against the Viet Cong.
Approximate Word count = 952 Approximate Pages = 3.8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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