“I knew the instant I pulled the trigger that my life had changed forever. … I would never forget that moment for the rest of my days. The image had seared itself into my memory banks as surely as a branding iron against raw flesh.”

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Almost as powerful is Folsom’s treatment of the day he killed his first man in combat. As is the case with the above episode, the author painfully details his thoughts and emotions regarding the event. He provides readers with a look into the psyche of a man after he has taken the life of another in the heat of battle. Folsom questions his act and plays the event over in his head. After consulting with his peers and the chaplain, he places the action away in the back of his mind. As readers discover, the incident will resurface many times in the upcoming months.

“She turned around and jumped into my arms, I was home. The war was over for me. Then a different war began.”

Folsom utilizes the final pages of his book to describe his struggles to come to grips with his emotions and thoughts after returning home. He superbly describes his difficulties in discussing his experiences with his wife and his inability to release the pent-up emotions inside himself. As with many who have served in combat, he tries to put his actions and decisions into perspective and attempts to lead a ‘normal’ life. He seeks to give readers an understanding of the immense complexity to transition from a combat zone to living in the civilian world. As the author concedes, it is not a transition he is prepared for. As with the rest of the book, Folsom is able to articulate his thoughts on a complicated subject to his audience.

In summary, I believe Seth Folsom’s The Highway War is the finest combat memoir I have read focused at the company and platoon level. It is one of those rare books that bring out a myriad of emotions with its readers. For those who have served in combat at the small unit level, The Highway War will ignite many memories (some perhaps painful) and spark a great deal of reflective time. For those who have not served, Folsom’s volume will provide one of the best glimpses of the human dimension of war that you will ever read. It is a special book written by an author not afraid to share his innermost thoughts and emotions with his readers.

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