Brenda Walker passes slowly by Panel 15-E of "The Wall," the memorial to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice during the Vietnam War. There, etched into the black granite, she spots the name of her college sweetheart, "John Briggs." She had never known his fate until now.
Reflections of Valour is an American story of untested lovers from opposite backgrounds during the tumultuous early days of the Vietnam War. Brenda attends an exclusive east coast women's college and enjoys the trappings of her wealthy suburban environment. John is from a modest midwestern working class family. The military has become his life. Their relationship grows despite the differences in their lives.
The Marine Corps owns his loyalty. When he is called to war, Briggs is torn between a sense of duty and having to leave behind the woman he loves. His departure leaves many unanswered questions about their future.
In Vietnam, Briggs emerges as a leader among the young troops trying to survive combat. The reader experiences the exhilaration, the boredom, the confusion, and the horrors of war. He witnesses the murder of Vietnamese civilians, the death of fellow Marines in a tragic accident and narrowly escapes enemy capture.
Briggs becomes an artillery forward observer in the DMZ where his unit hunts for the enemy across a barren landscape destroyed by American use of deadly "Rainbow" herbicides. Eventually, the hunter becomes the hunted when they are ambushed. After a fierce firefight Briggs leaves the battlefield alive, but critically wounded. He faces slim odds to recover from wounds and exposure to Agent Orange.
John Briggs' place of honor on "The Wall" is more than a name. Like 57,939 other names, it is a life story. Two decades after they said goodbye, Brenda finally learns why he was drawn to war and what happened to him afterward. Her life is changed forever by knowing him and loving him.
Reflection of Valour is a novel of love, of peace, and of closure.
