Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam

by Bernard Edelman (Editor)

"An overwhelmingly eloquent book of the purest and most simple writing on Vietnam."―David Halberstam

Nearly forty years after the official end of the Vietnam War, Dear America allows us to witness the war firsthand through the eyes of the men and women who served in Vietnam. In this collection of more than 200 letters, they share their first impressions of the rigors of life in the bush, their longing for home and family, their emotions over the conduct of the war, and their ache at the loss of a friend in battle. Poignant in their rare honesty, the letters from Vietnam are "riveting,... extraordinary by [their] very ordinariness... for the most part, neither deep nor philosophical, only very, very human" (Los Angeles Times). Revealing the complex emotions and daily realities of fighting in the war, these close accounts offer a powerful, uniquely personal portrait of the many faces of Vietnam's veterans.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, War, Military Fiction, American History, Military History, Biography

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not for the faint hearted, but what could paint a more accurate picture of war than the letters of soldiers. They range from hopeful and beautiful to heart rending. You’ll find yourself smiling at the tenacity of the human spirit, and alternately crying at the futility of it all sometimes. The letters are fair in their representation of the men (and occasional woman) that served our nation, and fair in representation of the Vietnam. There are letters from soldiers writing about the beauty of the country, the kindness of the people, and others that think the place is disgusting and should be left to the dogs. It’s a real, unbiased, and in depth cover of a war, more than you’ll ever get in a history book. I highly recommend it. It’s such a complex social event, and this books confronts it full on, often with notes on the outcome (and sometimes tragedy) of the lives of the authors of the letters.

[jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

this collection is incomparably moving and utterly compelling. it was adapted for the stage when i was in high school, and on opening night we had a large number of vietnam veterans in the audience. following the performance, we met privately with them, and we all sat stunned as grown men wept hysterically on account of the memories it brought back for them, as many of the veterans were the same age we were at the time of the performance when they first saw combat overseas. it was in that moment that evening, perhaps more than in any other, that i realized the real, life-long consequences of armed conflict. seeing us in full fatigues with actual weapons in hand made their recollection of the experience frighteningly powerful. this war, and all others, happened to actual people (whom had friends, lovers, siblings, and parents), and the sight of those men crying haunts me still. while the letters home to loved ones differ from those of any other war solely on account of the details, and never the sentiments expressed, there could easily be a limitless collection of books such as this one for every war ever fought (and, sadly, for those to be fought yet).

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the book was very good. It was different, but good. The book was basically just a collection of letters from hundreds of soldiers during the vietnam war. What i really liked about it was that some of the letters were from the same people, so you could kind of follow the solider’s and really get get a good perspective of what it was like over there. The letters where divided up into different chapters in the book based on what the soldier was doing at the time, for example, there would be a whole chapter of letters written by wounded soldiers, and another from soldiers on the front line. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the vietnam war. Its a good book for picking up and setting down, since there is no real story line, you can read just a few letters at a time.

[Mark Fallon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This beautiful book from 1985 is a collection of letters from soldiers, marines, sailors and airmen that they sent home while in Vietnam. Some of the letters read lie poetry, while others simply share the danger and drudgery of being in a combat zone. At the end of each letter, the editor included a brief note of when the writer wrote, where they were assigned and, in too many cases, how they died in Vietnam.

Should be mandatory reading for every member of Congress when they take office, and every member of any administration. We must never forget the humanity of those we send to war. Reading their own words is a powerful reminder.

And, I'm hoping that the families and friends of our currently deployed forces are saving their emails and letters. And hopefully someday choose to share those in a similar fashion.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Started reading this book on my summer vacation and couldn't put it down. I was sitting in this beautiful beach house, crying my eyes out at times because of the stories these letters told. A great book to read if you want to hear some of the real stories from the war.

[Nick Plutchak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this, do it now.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Dear Bill, Today is February 13, 1984. I came to this black wall again to see and touch your name, and as I do, I wonder if anyone ever stops to realize that next to your name, on this black wall, is your mother's heart. A heart broken 15 years ago today, when you lost your life in Vietnam." -Eleanor Wimbish, in a letter to her son, William Stocks, left below his name at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam offers powerfully personal insight into the experience of American servicemen in Vietnam. Through its curated collection of letters home, Dear America addresses a nation, calling on it to better understand, and to not soon forget, the toll of war on those we send to fight, and those who eagerly await their return home.

The letters are organized like a tour, with the early pages dedicated to informing loved ones of their imminent deployment, and the closing pages the heartbreaking letters that would arrive home, but not those who penned them.

As the preface makes clear, "With the possible exception of his rifle, nothing was more important to an American in Vietnam than his mail."

This book accomplishes everything it was designed to accomplish, and it is a profound tribute to the 58,000 Americans who died, the 300,000 wounded, and the countless others who either served in Vietnam or supported them from back home.

5 out 5

* * * * *

Excerpts that Moved Me

"I'm real glad I have what I have. It seems poor to you maybe...but after seeing the way these people live, there's no comparison. We are more than millionaires to these people - they have nothing."

In describing what an M-16 automatic rifle can do to a man when fired at close range: "The only conceivable comparison is swatting a bug with a chain-mail glove."

"And when we next go out again
At night to kill more killer men,
Or else be hunted to our end,
Will it prove The Cause is ours?

How can we ever 'know we're right,'
Lost in this dark, primeval Night?
Must we kill them, as beasts must fight,
Until the Earth is torn?"

In a letter which also describes a medic's fatal wounding while treating others: "I often wonder if what we're fighting for is worth a human life."

"[I] feel kind of ashamed of the way I've thought and acted over here. I realize that I've actually enjoyed some of the things I've done which would be repulsive to a healthy mind. This place does make you sick in the head. When one starts to enjoy the sickness of war, he is sick..."

In a letter from a father to his son serving in Vietnam, "Let me say here and now that I'm extremely proud of you, son. Not because you were awarded the Heart, but because you did an honorable thing. I know that you were bitterly against going into the service and rejected our reasons for being in Vietnam... It may not matter at all to you, but you are coming home a hero to us."

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collection of letters from the Vietnam War. Thought provoking, gut wrenching, pulls at your heart strings. Love the way it was collated and organized.

[Jo Besser · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the most difficult book to read. Not because of how it was written, but the subject. I felt like it took me longer to read than an actual book because I was invested in these people.

There was an entire chapter on letters home before the people were killed. It honestly ripped me apart more than any character death in a work of fiction.

I actually came close to crying when I found a letter written by Lynda Van Devanter. It was written about Christmas in Vietnam...And the name won't mean much to people. But this woman wrote Home Before Morning, about her struggles in Vietnam and then returning home. (Her book was also the inspiration for Colleen McMurphy on China Beach.)

The only thing I wish happened were the letters in each section were set in order by date. But that is the only bad thing I have to say.

Well worth the read, despite how difficult the subject was.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is definitely a more interesting take on the vietnam war than a straight history book.

The interesting thing about this book is that after each letter it tells you the fate of the soldier who wrote it. So sometimes theres a letter of the "USA USA, I killed 20 gook commies yesterday and I'm damn proud of it. I'm reenlisting" variety which is followed up by a " ______ Is now president of an investment banking firm in New York". And sometimes there is a "Dammnit why did I have to get drafted? This is so screwed up, I saw a kid get napalmed yeserday. I just wanna go home" variety letter followed by a "_____ was killed by a landmine on Jan 3 1966". Sometimes it's the reverse, but if you have any sense of "karma" or cosmic justice this will shatter it for you.

Each chapter focuses on a different subject, which is nice. The reason why I gave it only 3 stars is that even though the letters themselves are mostly compelling the entire book plays strongly on this annoying, bullshit "wise warrior philosopher poet" mythology. Its evident on the cover, and in the intro-epilogue bits and its annoying as hell. Packaged in there as well are these anti-rational collectivist notions of an "America" which doesn't exist. Also the intro was (probably ghost) written by John McCain. Wtf?

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much has been made of the Vietnam War being the first shown to the American public on television and in relatively uncensored photographs, so maybe it's that narrative that prompts this feeling, but: as touching and painful as these letters are, they simply aren't as powerful alone as the HBO special (same name) for which the letters, read by actors, provide the only narrative over film and pictures of the war and the boys (the children) who fought it. I will finish reading this, and I will continue to be moved by it, but I urge anyone who hasn't seen the documentary (very literally a documentary)to see it ASAP. Um, I'm actually going to go buy it on Amazon right now.

Having finished it, I'm ready to admit that finding the visual version more moving was shallow -- on my part, and maybe also on the part of film as a medium, since it's defined by parameters, framing, cutting. The sheer volume of letters, of words and sentiments and fears and deeply felt losses, in the book could not be matched by a movie (at least not one that people would go to see).

[Sheela Word · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. A well-organized and diverse collection of letters written by Vietnam soldiers and rear-echelon and medical personnel. Some are eloquent, others less so. Some try to tell the truth, others to conceal it. I found myself jumping first to the italicized paragraph following each letter, so that I could learn the fate of the correspondent prior to engaging emotionally with the material.

The collection has a cumulative effect. For me, it was particularly sad to learn that many of those who survived the war and went back to the family and friends they had missed so badly, did not survive peace. For every returning soldier described as alive and gainfully employed, there seemed to be a counterpart who died in his 30's, was incapacitated with PTSD, or was jobless. The book is not polemical, but to me seemed a very effective indictment of this war.

[Eve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam took me back to the era, when I was in my early twenties and adamantly against the war. After all these years, I have had time to reflect on the anti-war movement. We made some mistakes in voicing our opposition, and this book proves it. I am still very much anti-war, but look differently at those who enlisted and/or were drafted to fight the immoral war of our sitting government (a bunch of old men who would send the poor sons of our country to their deaths). The book is very compelling, but ... sometimes it is hard to read because there is a sameness - a terrible sameness in graphic descriptions of killing and being wounded. After most of the entries they tell what happened to the author of the previous letter - which is heart-wrenching, when many of them were either killed in action and/or wounded. A painful, yet worthwhile read.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is exactly what the title says -- actual letters home written by the men -- boys, really -- who served on the front lines of Vietnam. After each letter there is biographical information about the writer, including his fate.

The letters are so honest and compelling, and so wrenching that I can hardly wait to get to the end to see the author's fate. And there's the double-edged sword -- it's heartening to read that he came home, heartbreaking to read that he was killed in combat.

Collectively the soldiers provide a view of the war that was never reported on the news or in the textbooks.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a compilation of letters (and some poems) written by Americans in Vietnam during the war. Each letter is followed by a brief description of when the person served and either what they were doing at the time of publication, or how old they were when they were killed. It was sad to read comments about these guy's future plans only to find out that they never made it that far. However I found it very interesting to read about the varying thoughts that went through these young men's (and a few women's) minds while they were there. It ends with a very touching letter written by a mother to her dead son. Great book.

[Sherrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a college student in the Vietnam era, this war and the events around it shaped my entire life. Not because I was there, but because it changed so many outlooks in the US. This book followed the same pattern--from unquestioning service to questioning everything we stood for. "Dear America" started a little slowly, but gained speed, and more than once in the second half of it, I found myself tearing up, thinking of all the people of my generation who were scarred by it, and (as is numbingly apparent by reading) all the people who didn't come back. It was, for me, a deeply affecting read.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never known much about the Vietnam War, but this incredibly moving, raw perspective of the war from the voices of actual soldiers though their letters home left me with an incredible sense of admiration and gratitude for the courageous sacrifices of those who defend and fight for freedom. I loved reading about the heroic acts and demonstrations of loyalty and bravery, but even more so, the admissions of genuine fear, anger, insecurities, and confusion about the purpose of what they were doing. It is a completely honest account that is both sobering and inspiring.

[Brook · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really bare-bones book. At the beginning of each chapter is a description of the letters contained therein (last letters home, "cherries", etc), and a little bit of melodrama. But after that, it's just letters home, with very helpful footnotes as to who each soldier was, what became of them, and where they are "now" (the book was published a while ago) if they survived the war. Very straightforward, and very, very moving.

[RYCJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the very few books where I've both read the book and watched the movie. Both were equally powerful. One of the most difficult things to do is to stand in another man's shoes. That's what reading this book felt like. Men sharing parts of what serving in Vietnam was like through letters written home; many of them letters they never expected to be published. Another part of history that has touched me for a very long time.

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love to just walk around in book stores and look for treasures. I found this book in Half Price Books, and I knew I had hit gold.
I was just a little bit younger than the guys that served in Vietnam. However, I have worked with, and known, too many of them to count. This book gave an insight into their world that I had never been privileged with until now. I respect and appreciate these wonderful Americans of my generation.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam by Bernard Edelman, Editor (W.W. Norton & Co. 2002)(959.70438). More than 200 letters home from Vietnam era servicemen to family, friends, and others have been selected for publication in this volume about the most intimate thoughts of the soldiers who served in Vietnam. My rating: 7/10, finished 2005.

[Cassidy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes a long hard look at wartime and how if affects the soldiers living it. Each chapter filled with letters that have a specific theme, be prepared to cry, cringe, and cheer your way through it. It made me more grateful for the sacrifices made by not only the soldiers during war, but their families as well.

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only reason that I did not give this book five stars is that it has been heavily edited. The editor stated as much in the beginning of the text. So I imagine that a less censored compilation would have produced a more representative picture. but the caution is understandable since this book was published in conjunction with the opening of a new Vietnam memorial.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

each of us
is a can of tomato paste
and though we may not
all have the same label
as we spin thru the air,
when we land too hard
or get torn,
from the outside or within,
we spill out and
stain the hands of everyone
who knew us
- Capt. Michael O'Donnell, MIA, shot down near Ben Het March 24, 1970

[xander · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was incredible. It was so heartbreaking and raw and beautiful. I usually don't like books assigned for school, but this was such an important read. This book sparked so many emotions in me and taught me so much about the Vietnam War and soldiers on the battlefield. I'm sobbing. Everyone needs to read this.

[Gayle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as part of the POPSUGAR 2017 Reading Challenge ("a book of letters"). This is not a book I would normally read, but my husband recommended it. This book is incredibly sad. I have come away with a new appreciation for veterans of Vietnam after getting a glimpse of what they went through.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is incredibly powerful. It is a compilation of correspondence sent home from soldiers serving in Vietnam. To read their thoughts, desires, concerns, passions, etc. with the understanding of the circumstances underwhich they wrote them is very impressive.

[Joe Kramer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book as a Senior in high school and its stuck with me for a long time...its crazy to read a book like this at 18 and grasp the fact that these were letters written by guys your same age just 30 years earlier.

[Susie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been awhile since I've read it, but I recall that it was a collection of real letters from soldiers fighting in Vietnam. It was moving to see how ordinary people had to deal with the horrors of war...

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in the 6th grade when I was obsessed with the Vietnam war. Reading the letters sent home will tear your heart out. It gives an individual and human voice to those who are often thought of as a collective, rather than real people who lead real lives.