European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 4, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Books Scott a latest gives Vietnam another shot by Chuck Vinch Washington Bureau like Many Vietnam veterans Leonard Scott kept the War locked inside after returning Home from that bitter conflict. And As for Many Vietnam vets it was the completion of the shiny Black Granite memorial to the War in Washington in the Early 1980s that led him to open up to his children about his experiences As a Ranger platoon Leader and an operations officer. Scott a unburden ing led the 42-year-old colonel to an unexpected second career As a bust Selling author. Seven year Slater Scott still on Active duty As a War gaming instructor at the army War College in Carlisle pa., shows no signs of slowing Down. His fourth Book the expendables $9 in stars and stripes bookstores has just been published. The Story follows a Crew of vivid characters through the hellish 35-Day Battle 6f la Drang the first time a . Army division a the 1st Cav a clashed with a division of North vietnamese regulars rather than Viet Cong guerrillas. As Scott said in a recent interview his new Ca Rcck was launched while he was stationed at the Pentagon during the swirl of controversy Over the design of the Vietnam veterans memorial. A because of All the Media attention my son who was almost 14, started asking me questions about Vietnam a Scott said. A i thought 1 would suggest some books for him to read but when i tried to put a list together i did no to find anything 1 liked. A it was either All the Way to the right a Glam Riza Tion of the War or it was All the Way in the other direction where we were All warmongers and baby killers. 1 thought a hell i can do better than  he sat Down and scribbled notes for what would become his first Book the Well received Charlie Mike. It took him a year of writing in longhand on yellow Legal pads. Scott had no formal writing experience when he sat Down to begin that Book. He cheerfully admits to flunking College English three times and getting a d on the fourth try Only through the pity of his Long Sulf Cring teacher. A a in a get Good Marks for creativity but 1 was Allf a for punctuation grammar sentence Structure a Scott said. A that held me Back from trying my hand at writing for a Long time. Quot now my editor tells me i have a unique style. If she Only knew i have no idea what in a doing. Style they had to Leach me what a protagonist was when 1 started doing  he still shoots from the hip when he writes. At least he has graduated from Legal pads to word processors even if it is an ancient Apple he. Several aspects of the la Diang Battle piqued Scott s interest aside from its unique place As the first Large scale face off Between . Units and North vietnamese regulars. For example it was the first Vietnam Battle in which a . Service member received the medal of Honor. Scott was also struck by the reverence accorded the 1st Cav div when he was assigned to fort Benning ga., As a lieutenant. A when the 1st Cav left Benning for Vietnam that cleaned out almost the entire Post of officers and cos a Scott said. A they All had to go because the political decision had been made not to activate any Reserve units for the War. A two months later the unit went into this major Battle with the North vietnamese and lost Over 300 soldiers in that one Battle. For fort Benning it was like the Gander crash in Newfoundland a couple of years ago that killed so Many of our soldiers. A i was affected by that when i went to Ben Ning. Its like the ghosts of the 1st Cav still haunt that  Scott was a student at the army War College when he began writing the expendables it it was amp a act of social injustice that lit the spark. A i had been invited to the local american legion Post to talk about Charlie Mike Quot a he said a and when i sat Down in the Middle of the audience i realized Theja Wasny to a single Black person there. A i leaned Over to one of the other members a they were almost All world War ii vets a and i asked How come there weren to any Black vets. A the said a we done to let niggers in  i was shocked to think that today Colin Powell technically could not go to Carlisle Barracks and have a Beer at the american legion Post. A a it a not really much of an excuse but you have to remember that these Guys served in a segregated military. That situation will change when the Vietnam Era vets Start moving up the ranks in those big military  Scott builds an entire scene in the expendables around his Carlisle episode when one character a Black world War ii Veteran puts on the uniform he had hidden away in a closet for years and marches downtown to participate in a memorial Celebration. The character sits in an empty chair but is soon shown the Ayjah the land when a White Veteran asks him to move at first politely and then bluntly because that particular Section is  Scott said most of the other characters also have some basis in fact such As the Rich boy who is disfigured in a car Accident and another who con is from a Backwoods country family. Another character finnic Martino is based on a Tough Streetwise new York kid whom Scott knew in Basic training. Quot coming from Oklahoma i had never met a Yankee before a Scott said. A there were 27 of us from Oklahoma on the bus going to Basic training and then there a this Guy a to finnic a who was like an alien to  Scott a prose is Quick paced and highly readable. It is particularly engaging because he spends so much time fleshing out the characters pre military lives and motivations before sending them into the heat of Battle. His depictions of Battle Are so realistic you can almost smell the cordite and hear the explosions. The character who provides the continuity is Shawn Flynn. As the Story begins he a a Young private in the snowy Hills of Korea during that War. A i thought it would be kind of neat to have this scared Young kid in Korea grow up to Lead another generation of scared Young kids in another War a Scott said. Scott shies away from politics in his books. A i like to keep it at the Soldier level where it really happened a he said. A the Battles arc interesting history but unless somebody you know or care about is going through that Battle its  one unusual technique Scott likes to use is to switch Points of View by describing scenes through the eyes of the enemy. A that took a tremendous amount of research a Scott said. A i went through the diaries of North vietnamese soldiers that have been collected by the defense intelligence  he found a wealth of information in an official North vietnamese army Magazine similar to the . Publication yank during world War ii. He also used English language publications put out through North vietnamese diplomatic posts. A a they re All propaganda of course but by comparing them to the soldiers diaries you can get a pretty Good picture Between the two of what the truth probably was a he said. Scott claims that writing has not changed his life although he admits to worrying that he likes it too much. A it consumes you a he said. A when in a writing i come Home from work and write until Midnight then get up at 4 . To get in a few hours before going Back to work. A i done to Sec much of my family. I cat most of my meals at the computer. The thing is the characters become real. You put them in a situation and you have an obligation to get them through it one Way or another. Its hard to step away from it  a Scott already has completed his next Book. It will be his first outside the framework of the Vietnam War. The Book draws on his recent experience in Germany with the Berlin brigade during which he witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Story focuses on three German paratroopers in world War ii who witness an is officer murdering members of their unit for withdrawing from their posts in the face of the soviet onslaught in the closing Days of the War. The three Are reunited when communism collapses in Eastern Europe. They discover that the is officer became a big shot in the state Security police of the former East German regime after the War. They vow to Hunt him Down and exact retribution. A a i have to get away from Vietnam a Scott said. A a in be done everything i wanted to do with that As far As telling the Story of the american Soldier and what he did Over there. A but ill keep on writing. I love it too much to Stop. I think ill hate it As soon As no one buys the  the Money is Nice he said but it hardly makes him Rich. A unless you re someone like Tom Clancy author of the Hunt for red october and other blockbuster you re not making a lot of Money writing a Scott said. A a let a just say that my first three books will put each of my three kids through  then he grinned and added a and this last one is putting my wife through  8 a sunday August 4, 1991