Fallen Angels

Perry is a teenager from Harlem who is sent to the front lines in Vietnam after volunteering for the service. Fallen Angels tells the story of Perry and his mostly Black platoon as they are repeatedly sent into the most dangerous assignments.
It’s a moving book about the camaraderie, unending fear, loss, and trauma experienced by these young soldiers. I first read this YA book in middle school and returned to it several times as a teen; I even listed it as one of the best books I read in school.
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Publisher’s Description
A coming-of-age tale for young adults set in the trenches of the Vietnam War in the late 1960s, this is the story of Perry, a Harlem teenager who volunteers for the service when his dream of attending college falls through. Sent to the front lines, Perry and his platoon come face-to-face with the Vietcong and the real horror of warfare. But violence and death aren’t the only hardships. As Perry struggles to find virtue in himself and his comrades, he questions why black troops are given the most dangerous assignments, and why the U.S. is there at all.