Don't Cry For The Brave

­Lieutenant Bob McDade volunteers for the Vietnam War instead of becoming a school teacher. He made the wrong decision.

In this intriguing military crime novel, London based author Gil Hogg focuses on battle stress and the justification for violence against the helpless. Set against the background of the Vietnam War, Don’t Cry For The Brave explores the behaviour of front line soldiers under stress who kill civilians. Have they committed a war crime? Are they sane?

The novel follows Lieutenant Bob McDade, who witnesses an officer ordering the execution of villagers while on an operation to gather intelligence about the Viet Cong. Conflicted and questioning his role as a seasoned veteran, he argues with his commanding officer and is court martialled as a result.

McDade is on the verge of a guilty verdict when his lawyer wins a plea that he is a victim of ‘battle stress’, and he is sent to a veteran’s psychiatric hospital in the US while the army happily closes down the issue of a war crime. Meanwhile Gail, who fell in love with McDade while working as a nurse in Saigon, is dedicated to her work in another veteran’s home.

Uncertain of whether he is sane or not, McDade eventually walks out of the hospital with a plan to leave with Gail. Will he persuade her to leave her job and nurse elsewhere, or will Gail be destroyed by the very madness she is trying to cure?