SwiftVets.com

[Navy_Navy_Navy]

Aside from having read "When Hell Was in Session" many years ago, I came face to face with my very inadequate understanding of the Vietnam War when I began to research "this John Kerry guy" back in February.

There are so many things that came out of this election that need followup and exposure. Naturally, my first-born syndrome kicked in and I thought at first that I could take it all on.

As I have had time to absorb the enormity of each one, however, I finally realize that I can't scatter myself into a dozen different areas - I already have a very full life and schedule.

There is a lot of work to do and I'm getting close to nailing it down as to where I want to focus my spare time and energies - for the rest of my life, if necessary.

I want put some energy into correcting the history of Vietnam war as depicted in the despicable movies that came out of Hollyweird and our own media - I want to work on righting the record so that the Vietnam veteran is restored to his/her rightful place of honor in our culture.

And I want to work on the POW/MIA issue. How my time and energy will best be used remains to be seen. There are thousands of web sites with POW/MIA stories and information. I would like to build one that is similar to wintersoldier.com and have a bulletin board on which the high standards for posting credible information and complete respect for other participants is maintained - the high road that the founders of this site have asked us to keep.

I need to start with a basic general knowledge of the topics and of course, the material right here on this forum is going to be invaluable.

I am browsing the books, though, and realized that not only do I not know enough about the war, I don't know enough about the war to know whose books are credible and trustworthy (other than Stolen Valor, which I already have) and which are not. I don't need books that detail battles just yet - I can keep dates and places in my head for about five minutes.

What I need are books that put the war and its battles into the context of what was going on back home, and vice-versa. Things that will help me understand the political atmosphere which suddenly led our Congress to cut off funding and allow the domino effect to leave a trail of human misery and despair and slaughter in SE Asia.

Which titles were written by anti-war people and which by people who really knew what SHOULD have been done and wasn't? Who do I trust?

Likewise, there are a zillion books about the POW's and MIA's - which ones are truthful? It seems that some are written from political or personal viewpoints which don't support the goal of accounting for the missing.

What's good on your own bookshelves? If you can give me a synopsis of what's in the book and why you like to it or refer to it, it will help me decide. Movies or documentaries, too, if you like. Even web sites.

Thanks in advance for your recommendations!
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~ Echo Juliet ~
Altering course to starboard - On Fire, Keep Clear
Navy woman, Navy wife, Navy mother

[LewWaters]

A couple books that cover Air Cavalry Operations in Vietnam;

Hunter-Killer Squadron by Matthew Brennan

Winged Sabers by Lawrence H. Johnson III

The link below has several pages exposing how the media actually worked against the US in Vietnam. Vietnam Veterans for Academic Reform is the host site, several other good articles on their home page



Vietnam and The Media
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Clark County Conservative

[Wing Wiper]

Probably the best book I ever read on Vietnam was "Low Level Hell" by Hugh Mills. It's out in paperback, here's an Amazon.com review:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0891417192/002-5126643-5876007?v=glance

You will not believe this guys bravery, it's a miracle he survived (2 tours), first in a LOACH, then in a Cobra gunship. I couldn't put that book down, and that's rare. "The 13th Valley" by John M. Del Vecchio was another, but it's more a novel than a history of Vietnam.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312200811/002-5126643-5876007?v=glance
I had a Ranger friend from the 101st that recommended it to me. It's disturbing.

[JN173]

Besides Stolen Honor my favorite books on Nam are:

Street Without Joy by Bernard B. Fall
America in Vietnam by Guenter Lewy
The Vietnam Almanac by Col Harry G Summers

Fall is anti-war (but who isn't) but gives a fairly accurate overview of the French in Indo-China post WWII. It's a good lead in to why/how we got involved.

Lewy, if you can find it, gives a pretty good analysis/debunk of most of the anti-war myths.

Summers is a good reference book.

Of course once you are ready to read about specific battles you can't beat
We Were Soldiers Once... and Young by Lt Gen Harold G. Moore
_________________
A Grunt
2/503 173rd Airborne Brigade
RVN '65-'66

[Hondo]

For what it's worth, IMO a good overview is Vietnam: A History, by Stanley Karnow. It provides valuable background. It traces the conflict there from way back through the French conquest, World War II, the French Indochina War, and US involvement. It's a single book (though a pretty long one), so it's an overview vice focused analysis.

Karnow is perhaps a bit left- and antiwar-biased, but IMO not horribly so. He does seem to do a very good job of keeping things pretty much objective.

You may or may not agree with Karnow's mostly unstated thesis - that we were strategically wrong to have gotten involved and could likely have turned Ho Chi Mihn into another Tito had we played our cards correctly - but IMO it still provides valuable background.
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"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks nothing worth a war, is worse."
-- John Stuart Mill

[Navy_Navy_Navy]

Terrific! Just placed an order - I'm wearing out my STAR card on the aafes.com link to booksamillion, lately.

I've got a boatload of reading to do!

Thank you for the recommendations!
_________________
~ Echo Juliet ~
Altering course to starboard - On Fire, Keep Clear
Navy woman, Navy wife, Navy mother

[Wing Wiper]

If you read "Low Level Hell" you'll see who should have gotten Kerry's medals for valor.

[Navy_Navy_Navy]

Got it on my list.

If I ordered everything all at once, my poor husband would faint when the bill came in.
_________________
~ Echo Juliet ~
Altering course to starboard - On Fire, Keep Clear
Navy woman, Navy wife, Navy mother

[Mustang0302]

I enthusiastically endorse all the above.

I would like to recommend also the best fiction novel I have ever read that puts all of the issues you mention into perspective...Fields of Fire by James Webb, decorated Marine Infantry Officer (including the Navy Cross) and former SecNav for President Reagan. Besides my Father's example, this book is why I joined the Marine Corps. There is even a character toward the end that will remind you of Senator Kerry.

Also, read On Strategy: A Critical Analysis of the Vietnam War by Col Harry G. Summers, Jr. U.S. Army War College study of "lessons learned" from the Vietnam War, demonstrating that the U.S. failed to apply Karl Von Clausewitz's Principles of War as a framework.

Hard to stop there, but these are two great places to start.

Fields of Fire:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553583859/qid=1099699586/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-4177214-1394548

On Strategy:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0891415637/102-4177214-1394548?v=glance
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Semper Fidelis, and God Bless America!

[MLB]

There are several sites for "free books online" you may find helpful. Some are categorized by topic, others by author or title. Lots of history - but whether or not they're accurate is another matter. Still - free is nice to keep your book bill down.
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MLB

[Navy_Navy_Navy]

Thank you all - my book and research list is growing!

By the way, "We Were Soldiers Once, and Young" is showing tomorrow and Sunday on TNT. It showed tonight, but I didn't know it until it was nearly over. I've heard here that it was the best and possibly the only movie that portrayed anything near the truth of part of the Vietnam war.

Anyone interested in tearing apart some of the anti-Vietnam war movies that Hollyweird has produced? Apocalypse Now? Casualties of War? Platoon?

It would be cool to replicate the list of "59 Deceits of Fahrenheit911," only with the Vietnam war movies. What a great addition it would be to any web site dedicated to telling the truth about Vietnam.
_________________
~ Echo Juliet ~
Altering course to starboard - On Fire, Keep Clear
Navy woman, Navy wife, Navy mother

[Tacan70UDN]

EJ - I think it would take more bits and bytes than the site has available for everyone to tear apart all the terrible Viet Nam movies made by people who had never been there and hadn't a clue. I served in the Air Force 68-69 and never watched a Viet Nam movie, until tonight. I managed to sit through "We Were Soldiers Once". Seems I had a bad allergy problem. It was awesome. It dealt well with so many issues. I wasn't a "ground pounder", so I can't address the battle scenes, but everything else was great. Leadership, "no man left behind", the "knock on the door", the families back home, training. It was all there. It's on at 8:00 p.m. EST Saturday, and again on Sunday, but I don't know the time. Folks should watch it.

[dcornutt]

You should get the book by Harold Moore, and Galloway (ie..We Were Soldiers Once and Young).

The movie doesnt' even cover half of it. (particularly the strategy as it unfolded). It doesn't cover the ambush strung out on the trail. Nor does it cover the VC shooting the wounded and dieing at night as they sat and listened to it.

[Navy_Navy_Navy]

Thanks very much - I've got a reminder set for the movie tonight and the book is already on order.

I remember having a very hard time getting through "When Hell Was in Session," (I think that was the name of it) so I'm stocking up on Kleenex, too.
_________________
~ Echo Juliet ~
Altering course to starboard - On Fire, Keep Clear
Navy woman, Navy wife, Navy mother

[Navy_Navy_Navy]