The Day We Finally Came Back From Vietnam

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The Day We Finally Came Back from Vietnam

Author : Roger A. McGill
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781667891590
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (915 download)

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Book Synopsis The Day We Finally Came Back from Vietnam by : Roger A. McGill

Download or read book The Day We Finally Came Back from Vietnam written by Roger A. McGill and published by . This book was released on 2023-04-20 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "10 Years Late", was the headline covering the 1985 parade in New York City. But as these authors and Tom Stack saw it, this parade really was the preface for the main event: the Chicago WELCOME HOME Vietnam Veterans parade on Friday, June 13, 1986. From a parade of 25,000 veterans in New York, this parade grew to a massive Chicago marching crowd of Vietnam Veterans with estimates ranging from 176,000 to more than 200,000. The inspiration for this was born in New York City. The innovation however was the brainchild of Tom Stack; the execution was the combined effort of so many other leaders and volunteers ranging from book co-author and parade leader and organizer Roger Mc Gill to volunteer and co-author Harry Beyne to countless other volunteers. Every effort was made to name so many of these individuals, yet it was not possible to name 176,000 veterans who had among their ranks so many who contributed. To those not named, you are not forgotten This event could not have happened without you. For Vietnam Veterans, this 1986 parade was their homecoming. Or as Roger Mc Gill said after attending the NYC parade "only with this parade did I truly feel that I had finally returned from Vietnam." Hence the title of this book as his statement was uniformly shared by so many who didn't have the opportunity to come to New York but showed up in force for Chicago. Anyone who has known, loved, honored a Vietnam Veteran understands the pain experienced with their return from war. They were degraded, spat upon, sworn at, and physically abused. Many destroyed their uniforms in shame; others left the country; most refused to talk about the war, their experiences, and their feelings. As a result, so many suffered from physical harm, most suffered from the effects of Agent Orange, and, of course, the silent killer PTSD. Even today, with the average Vietnam Veteran in his or her seventies, many are just now beginning to open up and share with one another. This is a tribute to the efforts of other veterans, their groups, and associations and to many of the dedicated professionals at the Veterans Administration. And there are many. And, yes, there is still a great deal of work to be done. There are veterans who are refusing to get treatment for diseases caused by Agent Orange - if they do, and they are improving or in remission - there is some bean counter who will decide they no longer need disability. This is an uphill battle. But Veterans are heading up the hill. However, in 1986, they were still at the bottom of the hill. This was just their beginning. This was their Veteran's parade. This was their homecoming. They planned and orchestrated and threw their own party. The good news: the guests poured in. By most counts, more than 500,000 came to celebrate their return, their contributions and to share their appreciation for a job well done. We extend a heartfelt thank you to all of those who gave so much and to all of those who planned and contributed to this event.

Reflections on the Vietnam War

Author : Warren Hunt
Publisher : Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN 13 : 9781974397808
Total Pages : 142 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (978 download)

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Book Synopsis Reflections on the Vietnam War by : Warren Hunt

Download or read book Reflections on the Vietnam War written by Warren Hunt and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-12-08 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ""An important contribution to the literature on the war."" Gary R. Hess, Emeritus Distinguished Research Professor, Bowling Green State University. Author, --"Vietnam: Explaining America's Lost War." In his Reflections on the Vietnam War: A Fifty-Year Journey, Warren E. Hunt chronicles his long struggle to come to grips with the meaning of the Vietnam War and how it affected him before, during and after his tour in Vietnam with the U.S. First Infantry Division. Using a stylistic mix of personal anecdote, historical reflection and essay, the author weaves his experience of the war into a broad context encompassing the course of his life. Starting out as a naive and patriotic teenager drafted at age 19, he traces his path through military training, his impressions of Vietnam and its people, the absurdity of daily basecamp life, and the crucible of enemy fire. Returning to a nation torn apart by the war, he soon realizes that, even though he is no longer in the army, he cannot escape the war''s insane grasp. Catastrophic events in Vietnam and on the home front, along with the dawning awareness of suicides among his fellow veterans, prompt him to seek answers to the questions that haunt his daily life: Why did America go to war in Vietnam? How could we lose? Why did so many people have to suffer in vain? His quest leads him to the unveiling of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., where painful memories and powerful emotions merge to initiate a healing process for the author, his fellow veterans and the country at large.

At Hell's Gate

Author : Claude Anshin Thomas
Publisher : Shambhala Publications
ISBN 13 : 9780834823297
Total Pages : 184 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (232 download)

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Book Synopsis At Hell's Gate by : Claude Anshin Thomas

Download or read book At Hell's Gate written by Claude Anshin Thomas and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2006-01-10 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this raw and moving memoir, Claude Thomas describes his service in Vietnam, his subsequent emotional collapse, and his remarkable journey toward healing. At Hell's Gate is not only a gripping coming-of-age story but a spiritual travelogue from the horrors of combat to the discovery of inner peace—a journey that inspired Thomas to become a Zen monk and peace activist who travels to war-scarred regions around the world. "Everyone has their Vietnam," Thomas writes. "Everyone has their own experience of violence, calamity, or trauma." With simplicity and power, this book offers timeless teachings on how we can all find healing, and it presents practical guidance on how mindfulness and compassion can transform our lives. This expanded edition features: • Discussion questions for reading groups • A new afterword by the author reflecting on how the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are affecting soldiers—and offering advice on how to help returning soldiers to cope with their combat experiences

I Am a Veteran

Author : Andrea Brett
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780692925829
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (258 download)

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Book Synopsis I Am a Veteran by : Andrea Brett

Download or read book I Am a Veteran written by Andrea Brett and published by . This book was released on 2017-09-05 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 9 x 13 Hard cover book of poem with full color illustrations

Cherries

Author : John Podlaski
Publisher : John Podlaski
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 458 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Cherries by : John Podlaski

Download or read book Cherries written by John Podlaski and published by John Podlaski. This book was released on 2010-04-20 with total page 458 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1970, John Kowalski is one of many young, naive teenage soldiers sent to Vietnam to fight in an unpopular war. Dubbed “Cherries” by their more seasoned peers, these newbies suddenly found themselves thrust into the middle of a terrible nightmare - literally forced to become men overnight. On-the-job-training is intense, however, most of these teenagers were hardly ready to absorb the harsh mental, emotional, and physical stress of war. When coming under enemy fire for the first time and witnessing death first-hand, a life changing transition begins...one that can't be reversed. The author is an excellent story teller, readers testify that they are right there with the characters, joining them in their quest for survival, sharing the fear, awe, drama, and sorrow, witnessing bravery and sometimes, even laughing at their humor. It's a story that is hard to put down. When soldiers return home from war, all are different - changed for life. "Cherries" tells it like it is and when finished, readers will better understand what these young men had to endure, and why change is imminent.

Defiant: The POWs Who Endured Vietnam's Most Infamous Prison, the Women Who Fought for Them, and the One Who Never Returned

Author : Alvin Townley
Publisher : Macmillan
ISBN 13 : 1250006538
Total Pages : 433 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (5 download)

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Book Synopsis Defiant: The POWs Who Endured Vietnam's Most Infamous Prison, the Women Who Fought for Them, and the One Who Never Returned by : Alvin Townley

Download or read book Defiant: The POWs Who Endured Vietnam's Most Infamous Prison, the Women Who Fought for Them, and the One Who Never Returned written by Alvin Townley and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2014-02-04 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "During the Vietnam War, hundreds of American prisoners of war faced years of brutal conditions and horrific torture at the hands of Communist interrogators who ruthlessly plied them for military intelligence and propaganda. Determined to maintain their Code of Conduct, the inmates of the Hanoi Hilton and other POW camps developed a powerful underground resistance. To quash it, the North Vietnamese singled out its eleven leaders, Vietnam's own 'Dirty Dozen,' and banished them to an isolated jail that would become know as Alcatraz. None would leave its solitary cells and interrogation rooms unscathed ; one would never return. As these men suffered in Hanoi, their wives launched an extraordinary campaign that would ultimately spark the POW / MIA movement. " --Provided by publisher.

In the Lake of the Woods

Author : Tim O'Brien
Publisher : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN 13 : 0547527047
Total Pages : 301 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (475 download)

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Book Synopsis In the Lake of the Woods by : Tim O'Brien

Download or read book In the Lake of the Woods written by Tim O'Brien and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2006-09-01 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A politician’s past war crimes are revealed in this psychologically haunting novel by the National Book Award–winning author of The Things They Carried. Vietnam veteran John Wade is running for senate when long-hidden secrets about his involvement in wartime atrocities come to light. But the loss of his political fortunes is only the beginning of John’s downfall. A retreat with his wife, Kathy, to a lakeside cabin in northern Minnesota only exacerbates the tensions rising between them. Then, within days of their arrival, Kathy mysteriously vanishes into the watery wilderness. When a police search fails to locate her, suspicion falls on the disgraced politician with a violent past. But when John himself disappears, the questions mount—with no answers in sight. In this contemplative thriller, acclaimed author Tim O’Brien examines America’s legacy of violence and warfare and its lasting impact both at home and abroad.

Bury Us Upside Down

Author : Rick Newman
Publisher : Presidio Press
ISBN 13 : 0307414701
Total Pages : 512 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (74 download)

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Book Synopsis Bury Us Upside Down by : Rick Newman

Download or read book Bury Us Upside Down written by Rick Newman and published by Presidio Press. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: They had the most dangerous job n the Air Force. Now Bury Us Upside Down reveals the never-before-told story of the Vietnam War’s top-secret jet-fighter outfit–an all-volunteer unit composed of truly extraordinary men who flew missions from which heroes are made. In today’s wars, computers, targeting pods, lasers, and precision-guided bombs help FAC (forward air controller) pilots identify and destroy targets from safe distances. But in the search for enemy traffic on the elusive Ho Chi Minh Trail, always risking enemy fire, capture, and death, pilots had to drop low enough to glimpse the telltale signs of movement such as suspicious dust on treetops or disappearing tire marks on a dirt road (indicating a hidden truck park). Written by an accomplished journalist and veteran, Bury Us Upside Down is the stunning story of these brave Americans, the men who flew in the covert Operation Commando Sabre–or “Misty”–the most innovative air operation of the war. In missions that lasted for hours, the pilots of Misty flew zigzag patterns searching for enemy troops, vehicles, and weapons, without benefit of night-vision goggles, infrared devices, or other now common sensors. What they gained in exhilarating autonomy also cost them: of 157 pilots, 34 were shot down, 3 captured, and 7 killed. Here is a firsthand account of courage and technical mastery under fire. Here, too, is a tale of forbearance and loss, including the experience of the family of a missing Misty flier–Howard K. Williams–as they learn, after twenty-three years, that his remains have been found. Now that bombs are smart and remote sensors are even smarter, the missions that the Mistys flew would now be considered no less than suicidal. Bury Us Upside Down reminds us that for some, such dangers simply came with the territory.

The Spitting Image

Author : Jerry Lembcke
Publisher : NYU Press
ISBN 13 : 9780814751473
Total Pages : 242 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (514 download)

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Book Synopsis The Spitting Image by : Jerry Lembcke

Download or read book The Spitting Image written by Jerry Lembcke and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2000-05 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How the startling image of an anti-war protested spitting on a uniformed veteran misrepresented the narrative of Vietnam War political debate One of the most resilient images of the Vietnam era is that of the anti-war protester — often a woman — spitting on the uniformed veteran just off the plane. The lingering potency of this icon was evident during the Gulf War, when war supporters invoked it to discredit their opposition. In this startling book, Jerry Lembcke demonstrates that not a single incident of this sort has been convincingly documented. Rather, the anti-war Left saw in veterans a natural ally, and the relationship between anti-war forces and most veterans was defined by mutual support. Indeed one soldier wrote angrily to Vice President Spiro Agnew that the only Americans who seemed concerned about the soldier's welfare were the anti-war activists. While the veterans were sometimes made to feel uncomfortable about their service, this sense of unease was, Lembcke argues, more often rooted in the political practices of the Right. Tracing a range of conflicts in the twentieth century, the book illustrates how regimes engaged in unpopular conflicts often vilify their domestic opponents for "stabbing the boys in the back." Concluding with an account of the powerful role played by Hollywood in cementing the myth of the betrayed veteran through such films as Coming Home, Taxi Driver, and Rambo, Jerry Lembcke's book stands as one of the most important, original, and controversial works of cultural history in recent years.

Waging Peace in Vietnam

Author : Ron Carver
Publisher : New Village Press
ISBN 13 : 1613321074
Total Pages : 256 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (133 download)

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Book Synopsis Waging Peace in Vietnam by : Ron Carver

Download or read book Waging Peace in Vietnam written by Ron Carver and published by New Village Press. This book was released on 2019-09-10 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How American Soldiers Opposed and Resisted the War in Vietnam While mainstream narratives of the Vietnam War all but marginalize anti-war activity of soldiers, opposition and resistance from within the three branches of the military made a real difference to the course of America’s engagement in Vietnam. By 1968, every major peace march in the United States was led by active duty GIs and Vietnam War veterans. By 1970, thousands of active duty soldiers and marines were marching in protest in US cities. Hundreds of soldiers and marines in Vietnam were refusing to fight; tens of thousands were deserting to Canada, France and Sweden. Eventually the US Armed Forces were no longer able to sustain large-scale offensive operations and ceased to be effective. Yet this history is largely unknown and has been glossed over in much of the written and visual remembrances produced in recent years. Waging Peace in Vietnam shows how the GI movement unfolded, from the numerous anti-war coffee houses springing up outside military bases, to the hundreds of GI newspapers giving an independent voice to active soldiers, to the stockade revolts and the strikes and near-mutinies on naval vessels and in the air force. The book presents first-hand accounts, oral histories, and a wealth of underground newspapers, posters, flyers, and photographs documenting the actions of GIs and veterans who took part in the resistance. In addition, the book features fourteen original essays by leading scholars and activists. Notable contributors include Vietnam War scholar and author, Christian Appy, and Mme Nguyen Thi Binh, who played a major role in the Paris Peace Accord. The book originates from the exhibition Waging Peace, which has been shown in Vietnam and the University of Notre Dame, and will be touring the eastern United States in conjunction with book launches in Boston, Amherst, and New York.

Valley of Death

Author : Ted Morgan
Publisher : Random House
ISBN 13 : 1588369803
Total Pages : 769 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (883 download)

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Book Synopsis Valley of Death by : Ted Morgan

Download or read book Valley of Death written by Ted Morgan and published by Random House. This book was released on 2010-02-23 with total page 769 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pulitzer Prize–winning author Ted Morgan has now written a rich and definitive account of the fateful battle that ended French rule in Indochina—and led inexorably to America’s Vietnam War. Dien Bien Phu was a remote valley on the border of Laos along a simple rural trade route. But it would also be where a great European power fell to an underestimated insurgent army and lost control of a crucial colony. Valley of Death is the untold story of the 1954 battle that, in six weeks, changed the course of history. A veteran of the French Army, Ted Morgan has made use of exclusive firsthand reports to create the most complete and dramatic telling of the conflict ever written. Here is the history of the Vietminh liberation movement’s rebellion against French occupation after World War II and its growth as an adversary, eventually backed by Communist China. Here too is the ill-fated French plan to build a base in Dien Bien Phu and draw the Vietminh into a debilitating defeat—which instead led to the Europeans being encircled in the surrounding hills, besieged by heavy artillery, overrun, and defeated. Making expert use of recently unearthed or released information, Morgan reveals the inner workings of the American effort to aid France, with Eisenhower secretly disdainful of the French effort and prophetically worried that “no military victory was possible in that type of theater.” Morgan paints indelible portraits of all the major players, from Henri Navarre, head of the French Union forces, a rigid professional unprepared for an enemy fortified by rice carried on bicycles, to his commander, General Christian de Castries, a privileged, miscast cavalry officer, and General Vo Nguyen Giap, a master of guerrilla warfare working out of a one-room hut on the side of a hill. Most devastatingly, Morgan sets the stage for the Vietnam quagmire that was to come. Superbly researched and powerfully written, Valley of Death is the crowning achievement of an author whose work has always been as compulsively readable as it is important.

A Trash Hauler in Vietnam

Author : Bill Barry
Publisher : McFarland
ISBN 13 : 9780786452231
Total Pages : 215 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (522 download)

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Book Synopsis A Trash Hauler in Vietnam by : Bill Barry

Download or read book A Trash Hauler in Vietnam written by Bill Barry and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2014-01-10 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book recounts four tours of Air Force duty in Vietnam, 1965–1968, and reports firsthand how tactics and the war effort changed each time. The routine and risk of daily airlift operations and the differing air bases are discussed—and colored with personal memories. Cargo included everything from elephants to dancing girls, and accidents and errors were all part of the mission. The author describes the work as a “history-based, humorous, satirical, and bitter recount of a major national wasted effort,” with commentary on American attitudes, the costs and the lingering social impact of the war. Photographs. Index.

The Things They Carried

Author : Tim O'Brien
Publisher : HarperCollins
ISBN 13 : 0547420293
Total Pages : 259 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (474 download)

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Book Synopsis The Things They Carried by : Tim O'Brien

Download or read book The Things They Carried written by Tim O'Brien and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2009-10-13 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A classic work of American literature that has not stopped changing minds and lives since it burst onto the literary scene, The Things They Carried is a ground-breaking meditation on war, memory, imagination, and the redemptive power of storytelling. The Things They Carried depicts the men of Alpha Company: Jimmy Cross, Henry Dobbins, Rat Kiley, Mitchell Sanders, Norman Bowker, Kiowa, and the character Tim O’Brien, who has survived his tour in Vietnam to become a father and writer at the age of forty-three. Taught everywhere—from high school classrooms to graduate seminars in creative writing—it has become required reading for any American and continues to challenge readers in their perceptions of fact and fiction, war and peace, courage and fear and longing. The Things They Carried won France's prestigious Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger and the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize; it was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award.

455 Days

Author : Robert J. Conine
Publisher : Covenant Books, Inc.
ISBN 13 : 1638854300
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (388 download)

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Book Synopsis 455 Days by : Robert J. Conine

Download or read book 455 Days written by Robert J. Conine and published by Covenant Books, Inc.. This book was released on 2022-02-18 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It was like I was in battle, and a barrage of weaponry was thrown at me, like misgivings, haunting memories, and tears that were so poignantly and strategically shot. I had no defense, and in my mind, I became a casualty of war, believing I was wounded, lying in a hospital bed, relieved to be safe and out of the war. When I got home, I left the war in Vietnam, and once I was on American soil, life started over. The past was the past. The challenge of the next fifty years was to keep it in the past. But that wasn’t always easy. I had nightmares that subsided only when everyday life challenges took precedence in our family. I had moments of depression and guilt and memories that filled the spaces brought on by scents, sights, and sounds. I couldn’t read stories about Vietnam or view Vietnam films or war movies. I kept them out of my life. I had fifty years of denial, but one day, God, whom I kept in my back pocket, pulled my past out and placed it before me, demanding that I confront it. I prayed, “My God, who am I? Please help me,” and the rest is history. I am still dealing with it, but I am at peace. My spirit was wounded; now I’m healed. My story has changed over the years, but now it has a happy ending. This story represents one soldier’s feelings during battles and the daily regimen of a soldier waiting to fulfill their 365-day stint in ’Nam. It is the story of one man’s true feelings frozen for fifty years.

When We Came Home

Author : Jack Mccabe
Publisher : OddInt Media
ISBN 13 : 9780979786860
Total Pages : 350 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (868 download)

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Book Synopsis When We Came Home by : Jack Mccabe

Download or read book When We Came Home written by Jack Mccabe and published by OddInt Media. This book was released on 2017-09-05 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jack McCabe, himself a Vietnam War veteran, shares his own homecoming story and those of other Vietnam veterans, assembled from McCabe's interviews with more than 150 veterans.

Vietnam

Author : Michael Maclear
Publisher : Methuen
ISBN 13 : 9780423005806
Total Pages : 492 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (58 download)

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Book Synopsis Vietnam by : Michael Maclear

Download or read book Vietnam written by Michael Maclear and published by Methuen. This book was released on 1982 with total page 492 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Letters from Vietnam

Author : Bill Adler
Publisher : Presidio Press
ISBN 13 : 030741583X
Total Pages : 258 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (74 download)

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Book Synopsis Letters from Vietnam by : Bill Adler

Download or read book Letters from Vietnam written by Bill Adler and published by Presidio Press. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “No heroes, everyone did their part, and everyone was scared to death.” They are the words of soldier Mark W. Harms in 1968, summing up his combat experience during the Vietnam War. His stunning letter home is just one of hundreds featured in this unforgettable collection, Letters from Vietnam. In these affecting pages are the unadorned voices of men and women who fought–and, in some cases, fell–in America’s most controversial war. They bring new insights and imagery to a conflict that still haunts our hearts, consciences, and the conduct of our foreign policy. Here are the early days of the fight, when adopting a kitten, finding gold in a stream, or helping a local woman give birth were moments of beauty amid the brutality . . . shattering first-person accounts of firefights, ambushes, and bombings (“I know I will never be the same Joe.”–Marine Joe Pais) . . . and thoughtful, pained reflections on the purpose and progress of the entire Southeastern Asian cause (“All these lies about how we’re winning and what a great job we’re doing . . . It’s just not the same as WWII or the Korean War.” –Lt. John S. Taylor.) Here, too, are letters as vivid as scenes from a film–Brenda Rodgers’s description of her wedding to a soldier on the steps of Saigon City Hall . . . Airman First Class Frank Pilson’s recollection of President Johnson’s ceremonial dinner with the troops (“He looks tired and worn out–his is not an easy job”) . . . and, perhaps most poignant, Emil Spadafora’s beseeching of his mother to help him adopt an orphan who is a village’s only survivor (“This boy has nothing, and his future holds nothing for him over here.”) From fervent patriotism to awakening opposition, Letters from Vietnam captures the unmistakable echoes of this earlier era, as well as timeless expressions of hope, horror, fear, and faith.