The Fifth Round Is a Tracer
A Machine Gunner’s Story of Vietnam
By: Thomas F. Ayers

This is the story of how a young man deals with being drafted into the United States Army in the turbulent sixties, faces the challenges of Boot Camp and Advanced Infantry Training, survives the experiences of combat and manages the adjustments of coming home to serve at a training base and then returning to civilian life. He describes the day-to-day life from the time he receives his draft notice until the day he has the honor of placing a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

His story travels from the classroom to the jungle and rice paddies where he faces life-changing actions, and he experiences moments that will be imbedded in his memory forever. He describes his transition from books to bullets, and tells the stories within the story which run from light moments to tragedy.