Nu: A Real-Life Account Of Two Teachers, One Vietnamese And One American, In A Small Town In The Central Highlands Of Vietnam From 1967 To 1969.

by James J. Flannery

There are many misconceptions about Vietnam. There is much more to Vietnam than we have been told on the evening network news or by Hollywood. For our soldiers, Vietnam was a frightening, mysterious place after the sun set. This book will show a very different Vietnam, from the perspective of schoolteachers who lived on a farm in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. One common misconception of Vietnam was that the Viet Cong were all Communists. In truth, the Viet Cong were not "one big happy family of Communists," but were in as much disarray as the Saigon government. Some were indeed Communist, but others were Capitalist, and considered themselves "Nationalists." Some wanted to see North and South Vietnam united, and some wanted simply to rid themselves of a corrupt and tyrannical Saigon regime. This fact comes into sharp focus when Viet Cong Finance and Justice Minister, Truong Nhu Tang contacts Nu and Jim.

248 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Bernie Weisz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review written by Bernie Weisz Historian Pembroke Pines, Florida Contact: BernWei1@aol.com December 28, 2010 Title of Review: The Supreme Challenge: Teaching in South Vietnam in 1968 without classrooms, few books, no blackboards nor electricity! I have read scoreless memoirs of men unenthusiastically going to S.E. Asia, reluctantly drafted to fight in the swamp and mosquito infested jungles of Vietnam, or to Thailand, flying B-52 Bombers to bomb Vietnam's Communists back into the Stone Age. All had one thing in common: counting the days where they could catch their "Freedom Bird" so they could go "Back to The World." Jim Flannery did it backwards. Not only did he go to South Vietnam on his own volition, he enjoyed every minute of it, and had it not been for the threat of a North Vietnamese battalion searching for him, he would have stayed! This occurred at the height of the conflict, 1967 to 1969, considered to be the apex of this war. Living with an indigent Vietnamese family on a farm for two years, Flannery embodied U.S. President Lyndon b. Johnson's often used cliche of "winning the hearts and minds of the people" by attempting to teach 600 students in the most rudimentary conditions imaginable. Chronicled in "Nu", Flannery describes his endeavors to inculcate indigenous pupils lacking a school building, funding, electricity or bathroom facilities. Anytime a teacher feels he or she has it rough, it would be wise to read this well written account of Flannery's attempt to do the impossible: teach up to a thousand students with one teacher besides himself lacking books, money and school supplies, with an ever present threat of being attacked by an aggressive, war mongering North Vietnamese Army constantly posing a threat.
Jim Flannery does not give the reasons why he decided to go West when most Americans dreaded getting their draft notice. Perhaps it was L.B.J 's call that inspired him. During the Vietnam War, "Hearts and Minds" was a synonym for a campaign by the U.S. military designed to win the popular support of the South Vietnamese people. It typically referred to America's attempts to effect change in the South Vietnamese populace's attitude towards democracy. Military units were created to try to protect civilians and help them rebuild schools and infrastructure in order to pry their allegiance away from communist attraction and recruitment such as the Viet Cong as well as reunification with North Vietnam. L.BJ's use of the phrase was most commonly taken from his on May 4, 1965 at a dinner speech of the "Texas Electric Cooperatives, Inc." His historic comment was: "So we must be ready to fight in Vietnam, but the ultimate victory will depend upon the hearts and the minds of the people who actually live out there. By helping to bring them hope and electricity you are also striking a very important blow for the cause of freedom throughout the world." For Jim Flannery, winning nor monetary compensation was not the objective. However, as the reader of "Nu" will find out, he certainly succeeded in winning the hearts and minds of all of his students in his outdoor marketplace classroom, as well as the blossoming of his unique relationship with "Nu", a young Vietnamese schoolteacher, which was tragically truncated by this senseless conflict.
There is so much to learn about the Vietnam War, Flannery's ordeal and the conditions of the time that never seem to make it in the history books that "Nu" is a historically important memoir not to be taken lightly. The book starts off with Flannery's incredible trip on his own free will to Saigon in 1967, while most of America's youth went there with their only thought in mind to survive their tour of duty and get back to America with all their limbs intact. Most soldiers fought what was called a "9 to 5 war,"'seeing themselves in defensive night positions worrying about sappers or mortar attacks. Flannery relished living in a remote and primitive village called An Tuc in the war torn Central Highlands of South Vietnam, incredulously without weapons to defend himself, with people he would describe as: "With a rich culture and wonderful." Out in the countryside, people didn't know or care who was in charge in faraway Saigon. Flannery, freshly graduated from Penn State University in Pennsylvania, flew to South Vietnam on "Thai Airways.' With a stop in Manilla, the Philippines, he met a telephone equipment installer on his flight to Saigon who was on his way to Nigeria to do similar work. This travel companion warned Flannery on the plane the following admonition: "Be very careful of your wallet down there. You'll be okay in the countryside, but Saigon is full of thieves." Flannery landed at Tan Son Nhut Airport and stayed at the infamous "Metropol Hotel." His description of Saigon parallels most other accounts that exist. Written in the third person styling, Flannery penned the following as he headed down "Tu Do Street": "Vendor's tried to get Jim's attention, offering everything from watches to whores. After several blocks, Jim passed the central Market, a huge building filled with individuals stalls selling produce, meat, fish, live chickens, eels, snakes, radios, clothing, and most anything you might want. There were signs and billboards everywhere, with writing in Vietnamese, French, Chinese and English." Certainly gone in 2011, the Vietnam Flannery described bared all the signs of Imperialism, which really was at the root of this conflict.
Flannery continued to describe a sight never to be seen in any American thoroughfare: "There were only a few cars. Bicycles, motorcycles, scooters, Lambros and Bendix bikes were everywhere." A "Lambros", or "Lambretta" was an inexpensive motor scooter that competed on cost against the ubiquitous motorcycle.
The "Bendix" was a bike built by the Bendix Company that was a motorized, rear-wheel steering bicycle. Although there are multiple accounts of GI's having experienced Saigon's "night life", as Flannery confirms in "Nu", for all civilians there was a curfew in the whole of South Vietnam at sundown. His hotel only had cold water, and in for a culture shock, the toilet there was only a ceramic square on the floor, where footprints existed. His description is amusing: "The ceramic square was less than a meter square, with two raised ceramic footprints, and a plain pipe located between the heels of the footprints. There was nothing to hold on to, no toilet paper, and no flush handle. Next to the square, was a large can filled with water. After studying the device, Jim placed his feet on the footprints, and lowered himself to a squatting position over the pipe. The procedure worked well. This is just what dogs do, he thought." The man that Jim sat next to on the airplane let him know it was worse in the hinterlands, Flannery's ultimate destination. Warning him as such, he admonished: "When you get out in the countryside, you'll just find yourself a comfy spot of ground and do the same thing. One thing to note, is the lower you squat, the better it works. You don't even need toilet paper if you squat low enough." The threat of malaria and dysentery was well documented as a hazard all American ground troops had to contend with. Many accounts exist of soldiers forced to take anti malaria pills and water purification tablets to prevent dysentery. With the threat from tropical disease, Jim was warned the following sage advice: "Never trust ice or water. You don't know where it came from. Drink tea, coffee or beer, or anything that is boiled or comes in a bottle that hasn't been opened."

Another interesting fact Jim Flannery brought out in this book was his introduction to American civilian doctors who in studying cardiovascular disease toured American military hospitals conducting autopsies of American men that were killed in battle, rather than by illness. As a result of their work, they learned that the majority of Americans have heart and blood vessels that already show significant coronary artery disease, based on their unhealthy diet. They juxtaposed these autopsies of American KIA's with autopsies of Vietnamese people that died of old age. They had better hearts than young Americans, as heart disease, with a diet predominantly of vegetables and fish, is virtually unheard of. However, their consumption of salt is high, and consequently there is the high incidence of strokes amongst the Vietnamese population. It is interesting to note that An Tuc was immune to the 1968 or 1969 "Tet Offensive." In January of 1968 there was an initiative of the North Vietnam Army to have the civilian population of South Vietnam join them in their offensive and efforts to overthrow the South Vietnamese Government, forcing America's withdrawal from the conflict. It was conceived by General Võ Nguyên Giáp, commander of the North Vietnam Army and his staff. General Giap was the same general that planned and executed the battle at Dien Bien Phu which permanently drove the French out of Vietnam in 1954. During the battle of Dien Bien Phu, General Giap stated he was willing to lose 10 men for every 1 enemy soldier killed, which indicated that a person's life in Vietnam was cheap. Attrition of the enemy, American Commander William C. Westmoreland's goal, would never work. The battle of Khe Sanh on January 21, 1968 was the prelude to the Tet Offensive. Similar to that of Dien Bien Phu, the battle at Khe Sanh saw the North Vietnamese surrounding their enemy and cutting off all land routes for supplies and evacuation. Khe Sanh was a diversionary tactic by General Giap to draw American attention away from the cities of South Vietnam and more towards Khe Sanh. In the Tet Offensive, Communist units attacked the cities and provinces throughout South Vietnam.
It is a case of fate that a female Viet Cong paymaster from Pleiku, infamous for it's red dust that clung to everything it touched, absconded with a Viet Cong payroll designated for it's cadres south. On her flight from the Communists, Nguyen Thi Tho decided to use the cover of the Tet Offensive to disappear with a large payroll to deliver. She thought the Viet Cong would never look for her, possibly believing she had been killed and leaving it at that. Deciding to flee with the stolen loot to Qui Nhon via An Tuc, it was in her travels that she saw Jim Flannery singing with a Vietnamese woman in French clothes. Thinking this would be her trump card if ever caught, she stored this memory in the back of her mind for possible future use. She set up a self run brothel in Qui Nhon and evaded detection until three Viet Cong gunmen found her and pointed rifles at her, demanding the money back. Claiming she tried to return it, and finally in bargaining for her life, she told the Viet Cong hunters about Flannery before her execution. However this information traveled fast, and made it's way south, finally to a South Vietnamese banker who led a double life. From a wealthy family, Troung Nhu Tang was also the Justice Minister for the Viet Cong as well as their top banker. Dispatching couriers throughout the country, it was natural that he would hear of the situation of Nguyen Thi Tho. Since he was a top Viet Cong official, he was cognizant of the plans for the "Tet Offensive," information only a few were privy to. However, Flannery makes it clear that Tang was not a Communist. Despite receiving provisions from the Communists of North Vietnam, only a small minority of Viet Cong subscribed to communist ideology. Since Tang was a banker, he was a true adherent to Capitalism, only desiring the ouster of a constantly changing, treacherous and corrupt Saigon government. At he end of the war Tang ultimately fled Vietnam in disillusionment and despair. Living in Paris, he authored in 1985 a book entitled "A Viet Cong Memoir," prefacing it as follows: To my mother and father. And to my betrayed comrades, who believed they were sacrificing themselves for a humane liberation of their people."
This is the first memoir or history book I have encountered that asserts that most Viet Cong were capitalists, only desiring to oust the corrupt South Vietnamese government by whatever means. However, investigation of the facts supports the material in this book. Saigon was led by the French-educated Catholic, Ngo Dinh Diem, becoming "America's man" in Vietnam. Diem and his family quickly lost favor. His brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu, headed the security forces of South Vietnam and operated in a repressive and coercive manner. His outspoken wife, Madame Nhu, added to the controversy. Troung Nhu Tang's claims are verified historically, as newspapers were shut down, opposition political parties were banned, and criticism of the Diem government resulted in arrest, particularly among students. Diem, Nhu and other members of his family were Catholic and their base lay in the Catholic population of South Vietnamese cities such as Saigon. The majority of the population, however, was Buddhist. The friction between the Buddhists and the Diem regime increased as Nhu grew increasingly repressive. Buddhist celebrations were prohibited and a series of attacks were launched on their pagodas. The "Buddhist Uprising" gained widespread publicity as a number of Buddhist monks engaged in the deadly protest of self-immolation. Incredulously, Madame Nhu dismissed these protests and was quoted in the press as calling them nothing but "Buddhist barbecues." Deteriorating, the situation in the minds of the U.S. decision makers, was growing intolerable. On November 1, 1963, elements of South Vietnamese military, with U.S. "encouragement" and promises of support for the new regime, staged a coup d'etat. Diem and his brother Nhu were captured and executed. The South Vietnamese formed a new government, headed by General Duong Van "Big" Minh. Three weeks later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. The successor to Kennedy was Vice President Lyndon Johnson of Texas. The situation in Vietnam inherited by Johnson grew increasingly unstable. The government of South Vietnam became "coup central" with seven changes in the military government during Johnson's first year in office. It did not improve under the administration of President Nguyen Van Thieu who at one point had to replace six of South Vietnam's 44 province chiefs on grounds of corruption and incompetence shortly after the Tet Offensive.
Nevertheless, Truong Nhu Tang considered himself a nationalist, and distrusted Hanoi's pledge that they would ask for nothing more after the war except reunification. To Tang, the Tet Offensive meant a display of North Vietnam's utter resolve to stop at nothing short of a complete takeover of South Vietnam. Acknowledging that the Saigon government was corrupt, Tang explained: "Our leaders fight only for their own power, not for the good of Vietnam. North Vietnam has been helping the Viet Cong and has promised we would be free after the war. I have always doubted that promise." Despite the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese both committed to dislodging the corrupt South Vietnamese government, he did not want the Communists to take over. Tang found out from a courier returning from delivering payroll about Tho's statement of an American school teacher living in An Tuc. Tang traveled and sought out Jim Flannery in An Tuc, pleading with him the following: "I want you to find someone with authority who will talk with me. Someone who will negotiate." Flannery found Tang sincere and accepted his challenge. Was Flannery successful? Did anyone take him seriously? What happened to Nu and the school at An Tuc? Read this amazing, unique account, with facts about this conflict never before known, all true to find out! This book is a must read!

[John Podlaski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nu takes place during the Vietnam war, but it is not a war story. James Flannery is a school teacher seeking work, and the area around An Khe, in the central highlands, came highly recommended. He sought out a teacher, who was working with children in a very remote village in the mountains. After finding Nu, he is introduced to her methods of teaching, which are truly unique. He decides to join up with Nu, instead of working with the French Catholic school at the base of the mountain, and learns himself while teaching others.

Mr. Flannery lived and taught in this remote village, high in the mountains, for two years. People in the village have lived there for most of their lives and have never ventured too far away from home; in fact, travel was limited to how far a person could move by foot. These people were dirt-poor, and have never had electricity, refrigerators, televisions, plumbing, toilets, hot water or any other seemingly modern day conveniences. There were no newspapers and "news" was communicated verbally from person to person.

When reading Nu, I was blown away by the simplicity of the village and the strong values and cultures shared by the community. They were a very proud group where stature among the villagers is looked upon favorably. They will share the last bit of food with total strangers and will offer a roof over their head without expecting anything in return. Although the war is going on all around them, they don't care and aren't bothered by either side. They are left alone and survive, unmolested, on their own.

Readers will be treated to a whole new way of life as seen through the eyes of the author. James does an excellent job in showing us how life differs from that which we normally take for granted. It is a very difficult life living up in these mountains, but while reading Nu, I would have loved to be there with them. Finally, the Communist Viet Cong learn about this new American teacher and what he is doing. They set out to find him and kill him.

Nu gets five stars and is highly recommended. Buy this book and visit this brave new world! It will open your eyes!

[Stephen Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nu by James Flannery is an excellent book and I highly recommend it. It is the true story of village life in the Central Highlands of Vietnam during the height of the Vietnam War. The story line includes the authors contact with the US military but this is no war story. Mr. Flannery had traveled alone to this beautiful and dangerous place to enhance his skills as a school teacher. He ended up living for two years as a guest of a Vietnamese family in the village of An Tuc. He befriended a Vietnamese teacher named Nu and the two spent two years teaching between 600-1000 students in An Tuc.

As a Vietnam veteran who served during the same time frame that Mr. Flannery taught, I found his insights into the culture of Vietnam fascinating. Our experiences as teacher and warrior on the streets of Saigon were similar to say the least. I was captivated by his story, laughed at his embarrassment at having to bathe with about 2000 naked villagers in the river, and could almost taste the nucouc mam and pho when he was eating with Uncle and Aunt. At the end of his two years in country, Jim narrowly escaped when he learned that the North Vietnamese communists knew of his presence in An Tuc and intended to find him and perhaps kill him

The epilogue shares information that most Americans don't know or refuse to acknowledge. When the US abandoned South Vietnam and it was overrun by the communists from the North, millions of men and women were sent to reeducation camps because of their religion, their political beliefs or their association with the American military. You will have to read the book to see how this ties to a civilian school teacher in the Central Highlands.
Stephen Perry
author of "Bright Light"[[ASIN:1609103998 BRIGHT LIGHT: Untold Stories of the Top Secret War in Vietnam]]