Review: 'Rock and Roll Soldier: A Memoir'

"Rock and Roll Soldier: A Memoir" by Dean Ellis Kohler with Susan Vanhecke

When I was in grade school in the 1970s, I went through a stage in which I read a lot of books about the military. In second grade, for example, I routinely checked out from the school library a series of glorified picture books authored by C.B. Colby. There were titles such as "Leatherneck" and "Frogmen" and, yes, even "The Signal Corps Today."

Each page illuminated various weapons systems and aspects of military life in glorious black and white. It wasn't exactly high art and literature; basically, it was a Department of Defense stock photo and large caption on each page. It would've made a good blog.

Later in grade school, I started reading World War II histories. I may not be able to remember specific titles, but I can recall some of the topics even today:

• The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot.
• The Hunt for the Bismarck.
• The Battle of Bastogne.

I mention this all as evidence that putting history in the hands of a young person can have long-term influence. Don't get me wrong, I read my share of pulpy fictions when I was younger, too--wizards and werewolves and space creatures, oh my--but meat-and-potatoes history probably got me further than did consuming all that literary junk food.

All this personal past, however, is prologue to this review. I recently discovered Dean Ellis Kohler's Vietnam War memoir on the new acquisitions racks at my local library. I picked it up because it seemed like an easier read. I liked how the chapters were short, and the language was accessible, plain-spoken, and matter-of-fact.

It was only later that I discovered the book had been published by the HarperTeen young adult imprint of Harper-Collins. I had picked up a juvenile title!

(In my defense, I guess the lack of sparkling teen vampires on the cover had thrown me off. I thought all Young Adult books today had to feature such blood-thirsty creatures.)

I am pleased to report, however, that the book was everything that I'd hoped it would be: A straight-forward account of how one young man went to war and came back, and the people he met along the way.

As a guitarist, Ellis nearly had a record deal when his draft number came up. He shipped off to Vietnam as a military policeman. His unit found conditions rustic, but improved with hard work. After his quirky captain learns about Ellis' musical talents, he's tasked with starting a rock band.

Enter the (ahem) "Swinging Banana," later renamed "The Electrical Banana," in hopes of avoiding doubling too much entendre.

The Electrical Banana turns out to be good--good enough to get picked up by Army Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (M.W.R.) services, and good enough to warrant a few gigs closer to the front lines.

They get to carry guitars. Sometimes, they get to carry weapons, too.

Parents of all stripes will enjoy the apolitical tone of the book, as well as little flourishes like the forward by Graham Nash. Young people will probably enjoy that their parents could once go to war with rock'n'roll in their hearts, too.

Discovering Ellis' book was reason enough for me to violate my own "only books applicable to Afghanistan" book-reviewing rule, if for no other reason than it's opened a new area of potential literary exploration for me. Up until now--my kids and I are still on Dr. Seuss and Dora the Explorer--I was unaware of how Young Adult (Y.A.) publishers might be serving readers interested in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I'll look forward to seeking out Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom memoirs targeted toward the YA market, such as Ryan Smithson's "Ghosts of War: The True Story of a 19-Year-Old G.I.".

There are YA fiction titles also on Iraq or Afghanistan themes, such as Walter Dean Myers' "Sunrise Over Fallujah" and Patricia McCormick's "Purple Heart."

Meanwhile, if you have any suggestions of memoirs and historical novels young people might helpful in exploring a loved one's past or present deployment, please let me know. You can e-mail me at Sherpa [AT] redbullrising.com, or add a comment to this post!