What Was It Like In Vietnam?
Honest Answers From Those Who Were There
By Linda Calvin and Sandy Strait
ISBN # 0-88092-049-1 $9.99 155pp.
Copyright 1995, Royal Fireworks Press, NY

More than two decades have passed since the war in Vietnam came to an end. Since then most Americans have wondered what the war was really like for our military who served there. Many questions have long been considered, but not usually asked aloud:

· "What was it like to live in a jungle?"

· "After seeing a comrade die, was it hard to keep fighting for a cause that the American people didn't even support?"

· "What did you think of the peace and flower children back in America who were protesting the war and insulting you?"

· "Did you ever actually kill anyone? If so, how did it feel?"

· "What was it like coming home?"

· "How were you mentally after the war was over? Did you come home to fight another war?"

· "Do you think the war was worth it?"

Two teachers, Linda Calvin and Sandy Strait, have compiled the answers to these and over 100 other actual questions asked by high school students, in this book. The questions were answered by 25 in-country Vietnam veterans, from Lance Corporal to Lieutenant Colonel, with widely varying opinions, experiences, and occupations, including truck driver, door gunner, helicopter pilot, company commander, river patrol boat gunner, nurse, and infantryman. Included is Senator Chuck Robb, President Lyndon Johnson's son-in-law.

It is the hope of the authors that we will gain an understanding of and perhaps an appreciation for a generation of soldiers that history would like us to forget and that the veterans will know that many do care about them.

This book is the first in a series including:

What Was It Like In Desert Storm?
What Was It Like In Vietnam? (includes chapters on POWs and Agent Orange)
What Was It Like In Korea?
What Happened to American Prisoners of War In Korea?
What Was It Like In World War II - The Pacific Theater?
What Was It Like In World War II - The European Theater?
What Was It Like in World War II - The Homefront?

Book Reviews

"The greatest tragedy of the Vietnam War is that we're trying to forget it ever happened. This new book, What Was It Like In Vietnam?, is a reminder that if we ignore our past we are imperiling our future. This is a valuable resource for educators, makes an important contribution to our understanding of the Vietnam War, and should be required reading in all U.S. schools."

- Fred A. Wilcox, author, Waiting for an Army to Die, The Tragedy of Agent Orange, Random House, 1983 and Seven Locks Press, 1987

"Fortunately, a rash of recent books should fill the gap nicely for parents who believe their children need honest accounts of the war and its legacies. What Was It Like In Vietnam? is subtitled Honest Answers From Those Who Were There. The book lives up to its title... One of the most fascinating things about this book is the diversity of the voices it captures...this book presents everyone's answers, with minimal editing... Above all we have to teach them (the students) the truth. These books are a good place to start."

- Homes Oudeis, Staff Writer, The Stars and Stripes, 23-29 January 1995 edition

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