Ghosts of Vietnam: A private's story is not a story about combat. It follows the life of the author thru his two+ years in the service from basic training to Vietnam. The only combat situations described in his book are incidents that had a direct effect on him. He tells of the effort to overcome his fear of height and achieve his goal to become a paratrooper, and the pranks that occurred during jumps. The attempts to have him transferred to a non-infantry unit in New Jersey, and the trouble that followed when he refused to sign the papers. The eighteen day journey to Vietnam aboard a ship and the trouble he got into there. His arrival in Vietnam under house arrest and the incidents that followed leading up to his court-martial. The time spent in the stockade, the people he met there, and the racial trouble that took place. Highlighted are the deaths caused by stupidity, arrogance and fear of his company leaders. AWOL in Saigon for four days and how he managed to survive using the black market His long journey home and the things he realized along the way, and finally his arrival home.