Book Description

South China Sea Rats follows an army forensic anthropologist and a team of soldiers on a deployment into Vietnam to recover the remains of a missing pilot from 1965. This is the first such mission for Dr. Barbara "Doc" Crittendon. There is much to learn and experience. The soldiers and officers teach her important survival techniques, such as high-frequency radio communication and helicopter egress techniques. She in turn explains archaeological excavation methods, how to set up a proper grid square, and how to succeed in the endurance test of constant screening. Although she seemingly comes from a different world, the military team members and Doc Crittendon find a shared value in humor--if one can laugh at oneself and his or her predicament. The drudgery of routine transforms this excursion into a lively adventure of creative wit and emotional parry. The humor knows no social bounds --it leaves no one behind.