Enduring Vietnam by James Edwards Wright

Enduring Vietnam: An American Generation and Its War by James Edward Wright
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was born in the midst of the American War in Vietnam and it was over by the time I became aware of it. I had uncles that were there, one seriously wounded. The war itself wasn't if at all, discussed very much. In my reading the past year or so I've taken an interest in exploring this tumultuous event in our country's history. I've read many viewpoints from military and political narratives. I've also read personal accounts of the boots on the ground from the patrols to the large scale battles that went on. This one though seemed to blend those together to give an overall picture of the war not only overseas but how it was experienced on the home front without being politically charged one way or the other.

One particularly moving moment was how the government was unprepared to notify families of soldiers who were wounded or killed, especially early in the war. The movie "We Were Soldiers" shows this too where taxi drivers dispatched with telegrams to give to family's telegrams of their loss. As you can imagine that didn't go over well. It was later changed that a member of the military and usually a local clergy member wound do it. Even then it was a harrowing experience not only for family members but those tasked with notifying usually didn't last long doing it as it was an emotionally draining experience. I have an 18-year-old son and couldn't imagine hearing that kind of news myself.

The book came closer to my personal quest in finding something about the Vietnam War to sort of paint a before and after picture about how it affected attitudes and society in general. It seems it started with high ideals with a sense of duty and obligation. What seemed to happen during the course of the conflict was those ideals seemed to drain away when the war, which didn't have clearly defined goals, dragged on and on and on. It wasn't a more traditional war of territorial goals but became a war of attrition and patience in which the opposition had more of.

It is an excellent book about this era and can be a good starting point to go deeper into a given area as it covers a lot of subjects and viewpoints that could be booked on their own. Anyone looking for a deeper understanding of this historic period should put this on their reading list.

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