Paco's Story by Larry Heinemann

Paco was the only survivor of a massacre at Fire Base Harriette, a location that was supposed to be safe.  He is left for dead for 2 days before he is found by a medic from another company.  Once Paco returns to the US, he takes a bus as far as his money will take him, ending up in a small town in Texas.  He gets a job as a dishwasher, working for a WWII veteran.  He is haunted by his memories of Vietnam and the ghosts of his dead comrades.  We don't learn anything about what Paco was like before the war or whether he had any family or friends to return to.  It is a very disturbing story about how badly returning soldiers were treated and how little support there was for them.  This was my 5th book for the Vietnam War Reading Challenge, and my 14th book for the New Author Challenge 2010.  I rated this book 3 out of 5.