| Fields of Fire | |
| Author: | James Webb |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Subject: | Vietnam War, United States Marine Corps |
| Genre: | Historical fiction |
| Publisher: | Prentice Hall |
| Pub Date: | 1978 |
| Media Type: | Paperback |
| Pages: | 496 pages |
| Isbn: | 0-553-58385-9 |
| Congress: | CPB Box no. 1963 vol. 23 |
| Oclc: | 47918691 |
Fields of Fire is a novel by U.S. Senator Jim Webb, first published in 1978. It is a work of fiction which depicts a platoon of Marines serving in the Vietnam War.
The novel is told mainly from the viewpoints of three Marines: 2nd Lt. Robert E. Lee Hodges, who comes from a long line of soldiers; "Snake" (no full name given), a squad leader in Hodges' platoon, a tough kid from the streets; and "Senator" (Will Goodrich), an impressionable and sensitive Harvard student who volunteers for service. The major themes are centered on loyalty, leadership, and the brutalizing effects on people in a time of war.Written only three years after the last American troops withdrew from Vietnam,[1] and despite being written by a man who loved the military and hated the antiwar movement, Fields of Fire points out the flawed logic of the Vietnam War through its hero, Lieutenant Hodges.[2]