Lawson's Loves and Trials

As Arnie Lawson settles into an interview with a major law firm, his mind drifts back to his military career. Lawson arrived in Vietnam an idealistic JAG captain, eager to do his job and ensure justice was fairly administered.

The honest hoosier wasn't prepared for what awaited him. Corruption was rife within the II Corps USARV high command, overseen by the draconian Colonel Ed Dufick. Dufick's criminal reach extends to high-ranking South Vietnam officers, with occasional enemy collaboration. A smart JAG captain might look the other way, but Lawson cannot ignore the colonel's crimes. Setting himself against Dufick's schemes makes Lawson a nuisance, and in war-time Vietnam, nuisances easily disappear.

Fortunately Lawson has friends, including affable Jack Milegin, whose irreverent pranks target high command, making him popular with the enlisted even as his superiors plan a brutal reprisal. There's loyal Jobo, who thinks with his fists, and Sonny, a hard-drinking Native American who thinks of Arnie as a brother.

Arnie also has women problems. He's attracted to Frenchie, the beautiful French-Vietnamese owner of the local brothel, but also to Elaine, the Red Cross girl with a bitter grudge against Dufick. With Dufick targeting his friends, both women are at risk.