"A sometimes harrowing, sometimes hilarious account of life as a young soldier with a dangerous mission in the early years of the Vietnam War. A true soldier's tale that I could not put down once I started reading it." - Harry O'Connor "We live in a tumultuous times ... a new President, a controversial administration ... wars and rumors of war reflect the bellicosity of the populist movement. Robert Stave's book "The First General Order," is so opportune and timely. It definitively exposes the horrors of war. His adroit handling of the ill-fated Vietnam War, fought by American teenagers reflects a tragic replication of America history." - Sean Quitler, Professor at University College, Dublin and Lynn University, Florida (retired) A soldier's story, RA's US's NG's ... The PFC's, Speedy Fours, Shit Can burners, KP and dining Room Orderlies who waited on tables one day and were asked to die the next. Sing no sad songs, there were no pup tent poets, just be there and be square and when you are done your own Mama won't want you back. "Mado, Mado where you've been ... up snake hill and back again: your left, your left, right, left. Two old ladies were lying in bed; one rolled over to the other and said: GOTTA GO, GOTTA GO, AIRBORNE." Call cadence count ... AIRBORNE, ALL THE WAY."