War in the Twilight By E.A. Cooper

War in the Twilight

A Memoir

By E.A. Cooper

102 pages

ISBN: 978-81-8253-802-3

Copyright  2021

 

Review by LB Sedlacek

 

In this new memoir, E.A. Cooper shares a short period of time in his life from when he served about 10 months in the Marines in South Vietnam.  He refers to these months as his far east experiences. 

 

This true story memoir shows rural life, Far East pleasures and the horror of war.  The author learned many life lessons such as never giving up, keep up with current events to assess consequences, don’t take things for granted and so on.

 

Cooper’s memoir is compelling.  He uses stark images, and pinpointed details to give the reader an exact idea of what he experienced.  It’s specific writing like this that is able to take the reader deep inside the story or in this case a true story world to be able to empathize with the narrator. 

 

Non-fiction books are not just tools for teaching classes, etc., as they can give you an insight into slices of life you might never experience otherwise.  You can simply imagine being on the streets or out in the fields with the author in this book.

 

From Chapter 5, “Daily Routine”

“Nearby, we had a five-hole outhouse. After a morning whiz or poop,

shaving, getting dressed, and sweeping out our living quarters, one could

head to the mess tent. A stainless steel mess tray, with divided

depressions to keep different foods separate, held our morning ration of

scrambled eggs and a heated biscuit, sometimes topped with gravy.

Along with the breakfast fare came extra strong coffee poured into

one’s canteen cup. Most of the food items served in our mess tent at

lunch and dinner came from the C-ration boxes. The ones I had helped

to guard on the beach when we first arrived. In order to make scrambled

eggs and biscuits, bags of flour and cartons of eggs must have been

brought in from a food source in Da Nang. For the most part, we had to

make do with what we had on hand. Also, I seem to recall that officers

and enlisted ate in the same tent but at separate tables. I don’t recall a

sign that designated who set where, but we knew our boundaries.”

 

Cooper is willing to give you everything with his words.  He doesn’t hold back.  Cooper presents a good sense of self and a strength and knowledge of this snippet of his time in this part of the world.  His work is an examination of what it means to be alive.

 

The honesty he uses in his text is impressive and refreshing.  He captures the nature of survival with a simple tenderness that is both realistic and powerful. 

 

 

 

 

~LB Sedlacek’s latest poetry book is “Ghost Policy.”  She is also the author of the poetry collections “I’m No ROBOT,” “Words and Bones,” “Simultaneous Submissions,” “Swim,” and “The Poet Next Door.”  Her non-fiction books include “The Poet Protection Plan” and “Electric Melt:  How to Write, Publish, Read Walt Whitman and Survive as a Writer and Poet).  Her short story collection is entitled “Four Thieves of Vinegar & Other Short Stories.”  She writes poetry reviews for  www.thepoetrymarket.com  Find out more:  www.lbsedlacek.com