When author Linda Farell learned that her neighbor Ron Latham had been given only a few weeks to live, she asked him to tell her once more some of the stories about his service in the Vietnam War.

At first hesitant to share, Latham eventually consented to twenty-one interviews, sharing incredibly vivid, honest, and poignant memories about his time as a Green Beret. Latham died on the day their twenty-second interview was scheduled.

Farell transcribed and edited the stories, leaving the voice, sequence, and content of the stories intact, creating an important and irreplaceable...