This book is the recollections of a guy that had very little interest in the military. His infantry training eventually leads him to the elite Recon platoon in the 101st Airborne Division's 2/502 Infantry Regiment "Strike Force" Battalion. Soon he is involved in brutal combat that leaves many of his comrades dead or wounded. He faces bunkers and machine guns and ends up within touching distance of North Vietnamese soldiers. All eyes were on the Cambodian invasion and Kent State. The big battles were going on west of Hue in the area of operations of the Screaming Eagles. Thirty infantry grunts died taking hills 714 and 882 on the road to the A Shau valley. Nobody knew, and nobody cared about their heroism. They fought only for each other. He then finds out that going home was harder than going to Nam. Years later he finally had to confront the past. This is a story of a military veteran's reconciliation with life, and triumph over the painful memories from the hills west of Hue. James P. Brinker was born in Manchester, Iowa. After short stays in Dunlap and Westphalia, Iowa he spent most of his youth in Glidden, Iowa. He received his early education in Coon Rapids and Glidden, Iowa. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from Iowa State University and a Masters in Public Health (Epidemiology) from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst). After completing his military service, he worked as a clinical and research virologist for almost forty years. He authored several scientific papers during this time. He has resided in Iowa City, Iowa, Helena, Montana, and Dudley, Massachusetts. During this time, he has always been very active in Church and community affairs. He and his wife JoAnn have three adult sons and several wonderful grandchildren. West of Hue, his personal story of the terror of close combat in Vietnam, is his first non-scientific publication.