Peter M Bourret, a combat Marine who served in Vietnam during 1967 and 1968, shares with the reader his insights about the war experience. The reader will quickly realize the profound impact of war on a twenty-year-old who discovered the horrors of war. The author's powerful and hard-hitting poetry lets the reader peek behind killing's curtain. It is a glimpse that will enlighten, but it is not for those who enjoy fluff. This fasten-your- seat-belt experience will help the reader begin to discover what General Sherman meant when he referred to war as Hell. A reading of this book of poetry will also help the reader to have a more accurate understanding of PTSD and its insidious nature. Although many of the 63 poems in his second book of war poetry deal with with life and death in the combat zone, the author also addresses the impact of war on the families at home as well as on the arduous healing process. The reader will be touched in a profound way by Bourret's hard-hitting and insightful poetry, which pulls no punches as it enlightens. Land of Loud Noises and Vacant Stares offers clarity to the puzzle that was the Vietnam War. Combat veterans will easily recognize the topics about which Bourret writes, and those who have never known the war experience will possess a better understanding of the phrase "Thank you for your service."