¶ … Marched Into Sunlight They Marched Into Sunlight

The Vietnam War was not only fought in Southeast Asia but also caused a great deal of social unrest in the United States itself. David Maraniss, in his book They Marched Into Sunlight tells the story of a few tumultuous days in October of 1967. At the same time the Black Lion battalion was ambushed near a village called Lai Khe, the campus of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, was erupting in a massive antiwar demonstration and Lyndon Johnson was stymied by the lack of victory. They Marched Into Sunlight is a non-fictional glimpse into a time of war and great social unrest which rocked America.

Maraniss spends book one, the first four chapters, setting the stage in Vietnam. He begins with an introduction to the soldiers of C. Packet and their voyage to Vietnam, at which time the author introduces their main antagonist and leader of the enemy forces,...

In the third chapter, Maraniss tells the story of the newly arrived soldiers introduction to Vietnam and their veteran sergeants: Welch and Barrow. These two characters are typical hard-nosed military men who believe that they are the "forged steel of the army." (Maraniss 32) And finally, in chapter four he details the personal life and expectations of the American commander, Terry Allen Jr.
The second book, containing chapters five through eight contain the setup for the antiwar demonstration at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Chapter five entails a description of the main cause of the demonstration, the recruitment drive by Dow Chemicals, producer of Napalm. The following two chapters tell the story of some of the main participants of the demonstration including, Elizabeth Menacher, Jane Brotman, but most importantly Paul Soglin. The final chapter of book two is entitled "Sewell's Predicament" and accounts…