The Vietnam War [A 2] was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 [A 1] to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975.

Although Conroy drew on his experiences as a cadet at The Citadel, as well as stories from similar military schools such as Norwich University and the Virginia Military Institute, during the 1960s to create the setting for the story, he has explicitly stated that the novel's plot and principal characters are a product of his imagination.

credits for his love of language

a Southern beauty

to a young career military officer