Fields of Fire (novel)

Fields of Fire is a novel by U.S. Senator Jim Webb, first published in 1978. It is a work of fiction which depicts a platoon of Marines serving in the Vietnam War.

Content

The novel is told mainly from the viewpoints of three Marines: 2nd Lt. Robert E. Lee Hodges, who comes from a long line of soldiers; "Snake", a squad leader in Hodges' platoon, a tough kid from the streets; and "Senator", an impressionable and sensitive Harvard student who volunteers for service. The major themes are centered on loyalty, leadership, and the brutalizing effects on people in a time of war.
Written only three years after the last American troops withdrew from Vietnam, and despite being written by a man who loved the military and hated the antiwar movement, Fields of Fire points out the flawed logic of the Vietnam War through its hero, Lieutenant Hodges.