Casualties of War (review)

Four friends pledge to serve together in the Vietnam War. Four branches of the military draw the young men, with their very disparate personalities, into vastly different wartime experiences. Now the fourth and concluding title in this gripping series (I Pledge Allegiance, BCCB 12/11; Sharpshooter, BCCB 5/12; Free-Fire Zone, BCCB 12/12) belongs to brainiac Beck, who joins the Air Force in solidarity with his buddies, against the tearful wishes of his family. It's fitting that Beck, the most introspective and articulate of the quartet, should have the last word. His airborne vantage point allows him to take in the big picture of the war, both literally and figuratively, as he struggles to justify his involvement in a senseless conflict by insisting that he's there to look out for his friends. By running missions to defoliate the river banks with Agent Orange, Beck assures himself that he's making the country safer for Morris on his river patrol, and by extension, Rudy and Ivan fighting inland. But rationalization can only take Beck so far, particularly when he finds himself mourning the destruction of a gorgeous foreign land while simultaneously discovering that he, like his friends, is not immune to the allure of battle. Lynch choreographs an in-country reunion for the four friends, and the tragedy of one young man's death is ultimately less devastating than the shock of how their relationships have been perverted by war. If readers are disappointed to realize that the high school pals won't easily slip back into their old roles in Boston, well, that's life. And if readers are stunned by the abrupt and brutal ending, well, that's death.