Vietnam Voices, volume 2, follows the same paths through the towns, villages, and jungles that we forged in Vietnam Voices, volume 1. We leave aside the strategy, the grand plans, and the politics to listen to those who were actually there. These are the people who made war, and in some cases peace, on the ground.
This is the war that most politicians in the early 1960s promised that "American boys" would not have to fight. These are the stories that you don't often hear.
In this volume, we hear:
- A Marine member of the Judge Advocate General Corps, who sometimes pursued misconduct of U.S. soldiers for war crimes and took care of many other legal challenges for the military.
- An Army transportation officer who tells about fellow soldiers at his base collecting money to buy two little Vietnamese boys cowboy suits ordered from a Sears and Roebucks catalog.
- An Army captain who worked in logistics to make sure troops in the field were adequately supplied.
- A Navy electronics technician on board a carrier who helped helicopters start their missions.
These and others were in Vietnam, interrupting their lives and doing what their country asked them to do.
It's time we hear their stories.