***"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.
