MWSA Book Review

The Light Side of Damnation

Author: William F. Lee

Publisher:  AuthorHouse

Reviewer: Bill McDonald – President of the MWSA

A Novel That is a Thinly Disguised Marine Memoir

Once you catch on to the fact that this “novel” is mostly based on the author’s own personal Vietnam War experiences it reads much more interesting than just any novel. Author William F. Lee uses different names, adds a few new characters and a few embellishments to enhance the story telling of his most unusual “tour of duty.” In his book “The Light Side of Damnation” we get an insider look at a war experience that the rest of us who were there never saw or experienced first hand.

The main character Marine Captain Barney Quinn is loosely based on the author himself. So the view of the story gets told through his eyes. The interesting part of this book’s background is that all of the encounters with celebrities in the story are real events that actually happened. It seems that the author had chance to meet and greet some of those mega stars who went to Nam to support the troops. I was duly impressed with his meeting singer Nancy Sinatra, author John Steinbeck, Phyllis Diller, Bob Hope, Joey Heatherton, Martha Raye, Robert Mitchum, and of course, Moses himself – Charlton Heston. I cannot think of any other veteran who got to meet and greet that many and I am leaving several off that list that are mentioned in the story.

His story deals with his duty as an aide to a general. That is a world that regular troops never see and know little to nothing about. That in itself makes this book inviting for old veterans like myself. His book is as the title implies “light” humor and it makes the story entertaining and enjoyable. This is not your “blood and guts” and foul-language-laced-war-story but more of a thinking man’s journey. It has lots of the familiar places for a Nam story including Marble Mountain, China Beach, Monkey Mountain, Da Nang, Saigon and all kinds of places that are called by their evaluation or by a number like Hill 22. There are racial incidents, untrustworthy South Vietnamese soldiers (ARVNs) and tales about the care and feeding (both the body and the ego) of the general’s staff. There are some things that regular grunts would never experience in any war zone – like a ride in a USAF VIP Lear Jet to get back to base from R & R.

The story is well written and easy to follow. The characters feel real and alive. The dialog works to bring the action and the plot all together. One of the things that makes this story a work of fiction rather than a non-fiction memoir (besides the name changes) is the creative and enhanced dialog which pulls the book along and makes it a joy to read.

Lee does a wonderful job of giving readers a picture of the world he experienced in Vietnam. His main character Captain Quinn is a likable focus of a good tale. The author has a flare for writing and telling a story that makes it a pleasure to read. You will be drawn into this story page by page and will not want to put it down until you are finished!