Outspoken, professional & fearless, Lt. Col. John Paul Vann went to Vietnam in 1962, full of confidence in America's might & right to prevail. He was soon appalled by the South Vietnamese troops' unwillingness to fight, by their random slaughter of civilians & by the arrogance & corruption of the US military. He flouted his supervisors & leaked his sharply pessimistic
- &, as it turned out, accurate
- assessments to the US press corps in Saigon. Among them was Sheehan, who became fascinated by the angry Vann, befriended him & followed his tragic & reckless career.