An Owl Among the Ruins: A War Story

War is an existential crisis for everyone, especially those who are required to conduct the war and offer their own beings to the battle. The question becomes, “What is life about?” That question faces the people residing in a building in Vietnam at the height of the American commitment to repulsing the insurgents and the army of the North Vietnamese Communist regime. However, Henry Benson, Jim McAdams, Bill Turner, and Jake Hennessey did not face the enemy on the battlefield but instead in the street outside their comfortable living quarters. More importantly, each had to deal with the existential questions of their lives as men, soldiers, and lovers. They were the owls among the ruins—the ruins of a misguided war and personal tragedy.