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Memories from the Grave

In this exclusive excerpt from his memoir, Robert Nylen, a founder of New England Monthly, is in the heat of war in Vietnam—and describes it in detail. Nylen died in December, before his memoir was released.

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Horst Faas / AP Photo
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Whamcrack! It exploded—close—too close to our lead guy, a big black dude from the 2nd Platoon. The Specialist Fourth Class was throwing a grenade at the bunker as a rocket charge blew into tiny, lethal shards.

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