Full Description
This extraordinary memoir tells the story of one man's experience of the wars of Viet Nam from the time he was old enough to be aware of war in the 1940s until his departure for America 15 years after the collapse of South Viet Nam in 1975. Nguyen Cong Luan was born and raised in small villages near Ha Noi. He grew up knowing war at the hands of the Japanese, the French, and the Viet Minh. Living with wars of conquest, colonialism, and revolution led him finally to move south and take up the cause of the Republic of Viet Nam, exchanging a life of victimhood for one of a soldier. His stories of village life in the north are every bit as compelling as his stories of combat and the tragedies of war. This honest and impassioned account is filled with the everyday heroism of the common people of his generation.
Contents
Foreword by Major General David T. Zabecki
Preface
A Note on Vietnamese Names
Part 1. A Grain of Sand
1. A Morning of Horror
2. My Early Years and Education
3. 1945: The Year of Drastic Events
4. On the Way to War
Part 2. The War of Resistance
5. Take Up Arms!
6. My Dark Years in War Begin
7. Between Hammer and Anvil
8. The Shaky Peace
9. Bloodier Battles
10. The Geneva Accords
11. The Year of Changes
Part 3. The Cogwheel
12. To Be a Soldier
13. Progress and Signs of Instability
14. Mounting Pressure
15. The Limited War
16. The Year of the (Crippled) Dragon
17. On the Down Slope
18. Hearts and Minds
19. Sài Gòn Commando
Part 4. Victory or Defeat
20. The Tet Offensive
21. Defeat on the Home Front
22. The New Phase
23. The Fiery Summer
24. Hope Draining
25. America 1974-75
26. The End
Part 5. After the War
27. Prisoner
28. Release
Part 6. Epilogue
29. On the Viet Nam War
30. Ever in My Memory
Notes
Index
