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Zusatztext “Candid accounts by soldiers and support personnel of their wartime experiences . . . This intimate peek at a controversial conflict is an insightful read.” –Publishers Weekly “Frank! unassuming prose . . . teeming with both information and emotion . . . Readers currently concerned about the war in Iraq will be touched by these thoughtful! humorous! and horror-filled letters from an often underappreciated and ill-treated generation of soldiers.” – Booklist Informationen zum Autor Bill Adler is a writer and literary agent who lives in New York. He is the editor of four New York Times bestsellers. Klappentext "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. Leseprobe Combat "In less than one minute, a relatively peaceful day went straight to hell." Corporal Jon Johnson of Ohio served with the Marine Corps in Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, while in Vietnam. His honors include the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnamese Service Medal with two stars, and the Presidential Unit Citation. After returning home to Ohio from Vietnam, Corporal Johnson was stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and was soon after selected to serve with the Marine security detachment at the Canadian World Exposition in Montreal, Canada, in 1967. Corporal Johnson is active in the Marine Corps League and is the Senior Vice Commander at his Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter. He wrote the following letter home to his parents and wife in Sidney, Ohio. 8 April 1966 Dear Mom & Dad & Peggy, Operation Jackstay is over. I guess now I'm a veteran. Nothing they could have done would have prepared us for this. We now know the training in Hawaii and the Philippines was a piece of cake. God doesn't know about the Mekong Delta, He didn't create that hellhole. I think when He rested, the devil slipped one in on him. They told us before we went in that we were the first American unit to operate that far south in the war. I think everyone else had more brains. Maybe when I'...
