Rumor of War by Phillip Caputo

RUMOR OF WAR BY PHILIP J. CAPUTO
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Rumor of War by Phillip Caputo
The novel, A rumor of war, brings into light the story of a naive young man, Philip J. Caputo, who joined the Marine Corps to participate in the Vietnam War. Since he was a Loyola University graduate, he was ranked as a lieutenant, and thus, was sent to serve in Danang in the March of 1965, with the first ground fighting unit in Vietnam. When Caputo left the U.S.A, he was still a youth who had a lot of illusions about the war that had been instilled by the idealistic American leaders about America’s supremacy and how it had never lost a war. The title of the book, A Rumor of War, is based on these illusions, which were later shattered by the extreme dehumanization and brutality that Caputo faced in Danang. In his memoir, Caputo makes his readers understand how it felt like to be a soldier through the utilization of vivid descriptions of the muddy, hot, rainy jungles and the military environment. In addition, Caputo translates some of the key military terminologies such as “big Ivan” and “ARVNs” so as to give his readers a clear understanding of his intended message. He expresses his personal emotions, inner thoughts and desires, as well as the outlook of his colleagues in a way that makes his readers envision how what he experienced during the war changed him from being an innocent young man to being a heartbroken war veteran.
Through his stories, Caputo explains how soldier…