Jerry Cooper
The Journal of Military History
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Press Book
Voices from Vietnam
Michael E. Stevens
An unforgettable collection of 174 letters and diary entries written by ninety-two Wisconsin men and women who served in Vietnam.
272 pages, 6 x 9, 54 b&w photos
Paperback: $28.95 | ISBN: 978-0-87020-287-2
Ebook: $15.99 | ISBN: 9780870206931
Publication Date: 2/29/2012
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Description
In Voices from Vietnam, raw feeling is framed against the backdrop of history through the collected words of men and women thrust into the mire of the Vietnam War. The chaos of life as an American in Vietnam snaps into startling focus in diaries and letters home contributed by ninety-two Wisconsinites who experienced the war first hand. Together, the voices of these men and women—pilots, infantrymen, medics, chaplains, nurses, Red Cross workers—create a candid picture of the rigors of basic training, the alternating tedium and terror of daily life as a patrolling foot soldier, the realities of combat, divided and shifting opinions on US involvement in the war, effects on GI’s relationships back at home and in-country, and the toll taken by physical and emotional burdens.
Extraordinary stories emerge: a POW diary surreptitiously penned on cigarette wrappers and smuggled out of the Hanoi Hilton; letters from two winners of the Congressional Medal of Honor; heart-wrenching accounts from soldiers who lost friends; the words of men who never made it home. Found throughout this wide range of experiences and attitudes are common themes of adaptability, courage, and deep feeling, summing to an emotionally intense view of the war and an unforgettable look at a turbulent period of American history.
Author Bios
Michael E. Stevens
Michael E. Stevens is the author or editor of nearly thirty articles and more than a dozen books. He earned his PhD in American history from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and is Wisconsin State Historian Emeritus. He lives in Fitchburg, Wisconsin.
No wonder soldiers tried mightily to protect the folks back home from the realities of war. Neither in Vietnam nor in any other war could parents extend a protective hand to save their sons and daughters. We need to read this book to remember that.
“Speak[s] more accurately and eloquently about the war than the millions of words already published by novelists and pundits.”
—The Capital Times (Madison, WI)
“A superb book that should have an appeal not just to residents of Wisconsin but to the 2.5 million Americans who served, and to anyone interested in the Vietnam War.”
—Indiana Magazine of History
Voices from Vietnam
Michael E. Stevens
272 pages, 6 x 9, 54 b&w photos
To purchase a copy, follow the links below or visit your favorite bookseller.
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