Reading Heinemann's introduction, I was a little skeptical of this fact. I thought they were just using this as a hook to get people to read the book. I admit that I was completely wrong. Page after page, I could take the stories and compare them to those I heard, read, or saw about soldiers during the Vietnam War. I could see the Afgatsis in the desert fighting Dukh in one side of my mind while seeing the American soldiers in the jungle fighting Charlie. The way both groups were treated when they returned from their "wars" was so similar that it was like looking in a mirror. One soldier said: “We have not betrayed our homeland. I did my duty as a soldier as honestly as possible. Nowadays it's called a "dirty war", but how does it fit in with ideals like Patriotism, People and Duty? Does the word “Homeland” have no meaning for you? We did what the Motherland asked of us.” (160) This comment alone expresses the feelings of Russian soldiers and their families, but also highlights the feeling that American soldiers and their families felt after the Vietnam War. They all did what their government and country asked of them, but they were criticized for following orders. All the similarities and even some differences kept my mind thinking