- After being mistaken for the enemy by fellow U. S. forces during the Vietnam War, a Japanese-American Veteran struggles to overcome his feelings of guilt and anger, find a sense of belonging, and reunite with the friend who saved his life.
- During the Vietnam War, Bruce Nakashima and L.V. Hendking form an unbreakable but unlikely bond. Their friendship is put to the test when fellow soldiers mistake Bruce for a member of the Viet Cong. In the incident that follows, L.V. saves Bruce's life, but both men are terribly wounded and shipped to separate hospitals, where they lose contact. The Volunteer is an intimate, heartwarming, occasionally hilarious account of Bruce's fifty-year search for L.V., exploring the power of friendship and the complexities of American identity as Bruce struggles to overcome his guilt, anger, and shame, and find a sense of belonging.
- During the Vietnam War, American soldier Bruce Nakashima formed a close but unlikely friendship with L.V. Hendking. Bruce remembers that before this, he'd "never interacted with black people, never," while LV explains that he had "never met Asian people in Alabama." Their relationship helped Bruce navigate a crisis of conscience, as he felt a connection with the people of Vietnam, whose lifestyle reminded him of his own childhood on a farm in California. And he was further distressed when his fellow soldiers constantly told Bruce that he "looked like the enemy." This conflict came to a head when U.S. soldiers mistook Bruce for a member of the Viet Cong and tried to kill him. In the incident that followed, L.V. saved Bruce's life, but both men were terribly wounded and shipped to separate hospitals, where they lost contact. The Volunteer follows Bruce's fifty-year search for L.V., with intimate, heartwarming, and occasionally hilarious asides and revelations. It explores the power of friendship and loyalty, the weight of family expectations, and the complexities of American identity as Bruce struggles to overcome his guilt, anger, and shame, and to find a sense of belonging.
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