Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Goes to Vietnam is an LLB written by author u/tankmnandan.
Characters[]
- Greg Heffley (GGtV)
- Susan Heffley (GGtV)
- Frank Heffley (GGtV)
- Rowley Jefferson (GGtV)
Plot[]
Greg receives his draft notice in the mail and he wishes to escape being drafted by fleeing to Canada, but when he asks his mom to help, she doesn't, stating that he will look handsome in a uniform. Greg acknowledges that he hates the communists but says that it isn't his fight. Greg says he will try to convince his dad, who is incredibly anti-war, but if that doesn't work he will have to take matters into his own hands.
Greg's plan to flee does not come to pass and he ends up at the basic training and while he doesn't enjoy it, he does think the uniform is sharp and will help him pick up girls. He also meets and befriends private Rowley Jefferson after he notices that Rowley seemed nervous. Greg says that while in combat, Rowley is "one of the finest human beings in the world" and that he can handle an M-60 like no one else. Greg says that nothing phases Rowley and he can't be distracted at all.
The boot camp ends and Greg is sent off to Vietnam. He is scared, having heard of the very short lifespan of the average soldier but he does note that he has been trained "well enough" and he has Rowley to watch his back. Greg also reminisces that he met a girl during the training so he now has something to fight for.
Greg goes on his first patrol and he says that he is perfectly fine with war being 99% waiting and 1% fighting. He finds walking around the rice paddies at night eerie, especially with the threat of being jumped. Sgt. Morris told Greg and the others that the enemy would blend in with civilians like cowards and that everyone is the enemy until they aren't so sometimes extreme measures are needed, like shooting down civilians. Greg says he doesn't like the idea but sometimes you have to do things you don't like.
One night Greg and Rowley are out on patrol and they are attacked by the communists. Sgt. Morris is hit first and takes most of the opening attack. The rest of them try to retreat to the treeline but are caught in the open. Greg fires blindly and hauls Rowley back to camp. Greg understands it wasn't his fault but still wishes he had been more alert.
Rowley takes the ambush very hard, sticking to himself and becoming incredibly jumpy with random moodswings. He also suffers from nightmares and often wakes everyone up screaming about Sgt. Morris. Colonel Granger called Rowley a "pussy" and Greg thinks that Rowley is soon going to kill himself.
Greg talks about how he has seen Rowley sitting with a deranged look on his face and when he spoke to him, Rowley's face contorted into an insane grin and he didn't even blink. Rowley has become even more jumpy, beating Greg's hand to a pulp with a hammer when he tried to get into their tent. Greg thinks Rowley will snap soon and notes that he destroyed hand gets him a few days off.
Greg sustains an injury in combat when the command wanted to take a too well defended hill. They move in to take the hill and are pinned down without air support and one of the communists shoot Greg in the ass. Greg says he wanted to cry from the pain but is relieved that he will be out of commission for a while.
During Greg's last night in the hospital he is walking around and hears a scream. He looks into the room and sees that their are government scientists testing napalm on their own soldiers. Greg sneaks into the room and hides until the doctors leave when he grabs as many files as he can before running. This is near the end of Greg's tour and will be home in a few days. He intends to give the documents to the New York Times, even knowing that the army will get him imprisoned for this.
At home, Greg is arrested and indicted by the grand jury for "conspiracy against the United States" which confirms to Greg that the government is "legalized tyranny" and Greg does have a good lawyer who has dealt with the feds before. He also has public support. Greg thinks that this shows how screwed up everything is, as he didn't fight for the America that arrests him for exposing government lies. He also says that Rowley blew his brains out.
Greg has been locked up in prison for three years. Greg's only regret is that his family are suffering because of his actions. He knows that his dad's co-workers don't like leakers and he notes that public support for the war is at an all time low and he hopes that in the future people will appreciate his sacrifice and stop harassing his family.
He wonders if he will ever be given a pardon. He says that he wants his story to be heard, he wants Rowley's story to be heard, he wants Morris' story to be heard.