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Books > History > Asian / Middle Eastern history > From 1900 > Postwar, from 1945 > Vietnam War
The American war in Vietnam was one of the most morally contentious
events of the twentieth century, and it produced an extraordinary
outpouring of poetry. Yet the prodigious poetic voice of its
American participants remains largely unheard; the complex ethical
terrain of their experiences underexplored. In A Shadow on Our
Hearts, Adam Gilbert rectifies these oversights by utilizing the
vast body of soldier-poetry to examine the war's core moral issues.
The soldier-poets provide important insights into the ethical
dimensions of their physical and psychological surroundings before,
during, and after the war. They also offer profound perspectives on
the relationships between American soldiers and the Vietnamese
people. From firsthand experiences, they reflect on what it meant
to be witnesses, victims, and perpetrators of wartime violence. And
they advance an uncompromising vision of moral responsibility that
indicts a range of culprits for the harms caused by the conflict.
Gilbert explores the powerful and perceptive work of these
soldier-poets through the lens of morality and presents a radically
alternative, deeply personal, and ethically penetrating account of
the American war in Vietnam.
By 1969, following the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu, over 500,000
US troops were 'in country' in Vietnam. Before America's longest
war had ended with the fall of Saigon in 1975, 450,000 Vietnamese
had died, along with 36,000 Americans. The Vietnam War was the
first rock 'n' roll war, the first helicopter war with its doctrine
of 'airmobility', and the first television war; it made napalm and
the defoliant Agent Orange infamous, and gave us the New Journalism
of Michael Herr and others. It also saw the establishment of the
Navy SEALs and Delta Force. At home, America fractured, with the
peace movement protesting against the war; at Kent State
University, Ohio National Guardsmen fired on unarmed students,
killing four and injuring nine. Lewis's compelling selection of the
best writing to come out of a war covered by some truly outstanding
writers, both journalists and combatants, includes an eyewitness
account of the first major battle between the US Army and the
People's Army of Vietnam at Ia Drang; a selection of letters home;
Nicholas Tomalin's famous 'The General Goes Zapping Charlie Cong';
Robert Mason's 'R&R', Studs Terkel's account of the police
breaking up an anti-war protest; John Kifner on the shootings at
Kent State; Ron Kovic's 'Born on the Fourth of July'; John T.
Wheeler's 'Khe Sanh: Live in the V Ring'; Pulitzer Prize-winner
Seymour Hersh on the massacre at My Lai; Michael Herr's 'It Made
You Feel Omni'; Viet Cong Truong Nhu Tang's memoir; naval nurse
Maureen Walsh's memoir, 'Burning Flesh'; John Pilger on the fall of
Saigon; and Tim O'Brien's 'If I Die in a Combat Zone'.
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WW Vietnam
(Hardcover)
Michael Rand
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R3,275
R2,657
Discovery Miles 26 570
Save R618 (19%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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USAF Skyraider units were originally tasked to serve as
quasi-training units for the fledgling VNAF. Equipped only with the
two-seat models of the Skyraider, American pilots were required to
have VNAF 'observers' in the aircraft for every mission.
Eventually, this arrangement was changed as enough Vietnamese
pilots were trained to man their own squadrons, while USAF
squadrons were tasked with close support for US ground forces.
Eventually, no fewer than four USAF and seven VNAF Skyraider units
saw service in Vietnam. Additionally, one A-1 training squadron
flew from Hurlburt Field, Florida, throughout the Vietnam War era.
In the ten years that this squadron was active, nearly 1000 USAF
and 300 VNAF pilots were trained in the Skyraider. While the core
mission of all Skyraider squadrons was Close Air Support (CAS),
other missions were accomplished at various times. Among these were
Search and Rescue (SAR), night interdiction on the Ho Chi Minh
trail, helicopter escort and special forces support to name but a
few. Each of these missions took full advantage of the Skyraider's
ability to deliver a variety of munitions in close proximity to
friendly forces while inflicting heavy casualties on enemy forces
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