A Vietnam Trilogy Vol I

Through the stories of veterans and the author's own understanding as a psychiatric social work officer in Vietnam and his extensive post-war experiences as a mental health professional, A Vietnam Trilogy describes the impact of war on veterans from a psy.

Scurfield (social work, U. of Southern Mississippi-Gulf Coast) has been involved in treating post-traumatic stress disorder among veterans for nearly 40 years. This text is the second of three volumes in which he reflects upon his therapeutic career and recounts a trip to Vietnam in the year 2000, in which three Vietnam veterans returned to former

A nationally renowned PTSD authority reveals the psychiatric impact of war on soldiers and veterans, dented or minimized by government and the military. Through efforts to treat veterans of past conflicts he illustrates the inevitability of lifelong psychiatric scars from today's conflicts as well.

Through the stories of numerous veterans and the author's own understanding as a mental health professional, A Vietnam Trilogy studies the impact of war on veterans from a psychiatric/psychological, social, and cultural perspective, both during and decades after the violence. The book reflects Scurfield's three-fold experiences in Vietnam, in 1968 as an Army social work officer serving acute battlefield psychiatric casualties; in 1989 when he co-led the first Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder therapy group of veterans back to Vietnam; and in 2000, as co-faculty for an award-winning Vietnam history course including three combat veterans. The book offers Vietnam veterans and other veterans a vicarious "healing journey" by relating the experiences of those who participated in these therapeutic efforts; it offers recommendations to veterans and those who wish to help them; and offers ideas on how some important understandings can be shared to the wider public.

War Trauma draws on the experience of prior wars for valuable insights to help people who are now in the military or in the healing professions, and their families and communities, to deal with todays realities of combat and its aftermath -- which so often entails PTSD (post-traumatic stresss syndrome), depression and the risk of suicide. This is part three in A Vietnam Trilogy, which studies the psychiatric impact of war on soldiers and veterans, and their families. The effects go on for decades after the violence occurred, and we are still just learning to understand the depth and variety of problems it can cause. Further, Scurfield documents his proven innovative therapies for treating PTSD. This third volume looks at what military and mental health professionals -- and the Veterans Administration (VA) -- should have learned from the Vietnam War in order to better protect American servicemen and servicewomen in later conflicts and to help them recover afterwards. The Persian Gulf War, for instance, had an immense impact on veterans of all wars. The author was a national faculty member for joint VA-DOD training programs to enhance mental health response readiness for receiving anticipated medical and psychiatric casualties from the Persian Gulf War. What he found was a resurgence of selective amnesia and denial about the true impact of war. Scurfield notes, "Chillingly, what happened in Vietnam in 1968--69 regarding psychiatric casualties has enormous parallels to what is happening today regarding U.S. psychiatric casualties from the Iraq War."

FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, A COMPREHENSIVE AND FASCINATING CRITIQUE OF MOVIES ABOUT VIETNAM! Heroic. Brave. Daring. Until the 1960s, movies about war were good box office. That all changed with Vietnam. Since the war was unpopular and confusing -- lacking clear objectives and easily identified enemies --movie-makers, like many Americans, transferred their dislike for the conflict onto the soldier. Consequently, Hollywood produced pictures that can now be recognizes as misleading, distorted, sensationalistic, or just plain dishonest. In Vietnam at the Movies, Vietnam vet Michael Lee Lanning traces the genesis of the "war movie" from the Spanish American War all the way up to Vietnam, taking Tinseltown to task for its treatment of the Viet vet--painstakingly separating fact from the fiction, and reviewing the quality and accuracy of more than 380 films and TV movies, including: Air America * The Big Chill * Birdy * Born on the Fourth of July * Casualties of War * Coming Home * The Deer Hunter * Dogfight * Easy Rider * First Blood * For the Boys * Friendly Fire * Full Metal Jacket * Good Morning Vietnam * Hair * In Country * JFK * The Killing Fields * Lethal Weapon * Nashville * Platoon * Running On Empty * Slaughterhouse-Five * Streamers * Suspect * Swimming to Cambodia * Taxi Driver * Tender Mercies * Top Gun * Year of the Dragon * And many more! Alphabetically organized for quick and easy access, this comprehensive volume gives film audiences and VCR viewers the opportunity to understand exactly what they are watching when they see Vietnam at the movies.

Three classic novels by John M. Del Vecchio about Vietnam, Cambodia, and the aftermath of war. A classic combat novel and National Book Award finalist, The 13th Valley follows the terrifying Vietnam combat experiences of James Chelini, a telephone-systems installer who finds himself an infantryman in the North Vietnamese Army–infested mountains of the I Corps Tactical Zone. Spiraling deeper and deeper into a world of conflict and darkness, this harrowing account plunges Chelini into jungle warfare and traces his evolution from semi-pacifist to all-out, combat-crazed soldier. The seminal novel on the Vietnam experience, The 13th Valley is a classic that illuminates the war in Southeast Asia like no other book. Some reviewers have called For the Sake of All Living Things the most terrifying book they have ever read. This saga follows a rural Cambodian family—father Chhoun; his beautiful daughter, Vathana; and his young son, Samnang, who becomes the Khmer Rouge yothea Met Nang—from the mid-sixties through the escalation of the civil war, into the horrors of the holocaust, and finally to the country’s quest for rebirth. Documenting their story is American Special Forces Captain John Sullivan who served with the Military Equipment Delivery Team, and who has fallen in love with Vathana. Carry Me Home brings the troops back to America—a nation confused and divided by the wars in Southeast Asia. In this poignant epic, Del Vecchio transports a group of soldiers to their final battlefield: the home front. High Meadow Farm, in the fertile hill country of central Pennsylvania, becomes their salvation. In Vietnam they had been brothers in arms. Now, in the face of personal tragedy and bureaucratic deception, they create an even deeper allegiance—one of the spirit and of the land. This is the remarkable story of the veterans’ struggle to find one another and themselves. In its scope, breadth, and brilliance, Carry Me Home is much more than a novel about Vietnam vets; it is a testament to history and hope, to hometowns and homecomings, to love and loss, and to faith and family. It is an inspiring and unforgettable novel about America itself.

C.M.A.C., A Vietnam Era Trilogy, contains three sagas that describe the late 1960s, Vietnam era, U.S. Army life of James A. Callaghan. Saga of a Student Warrior--The first story follows the military training of Callaghan who, during his draft induction, was christened "Hallaghan" due to a bureaucratic error. It describes how he dealt with his new and strange environment, and his first assignment as a post radio officer. Saga of a Saigon Warrior--The Capital Military Assistance Command (C.M.A.C.), Saigon, and the surrounding districts were Callaghan's home in Vietnam during 1969. He met his match when he tangled with General Gottard, the personification of the cartoon character 'Yosemite Sam, ' until a year later when Callaghan suffered an untimely accident while clearing post. Saga of a Garrison Warrior--Returned from near death by a C.M.A.C. medic, Callaghan was quickly moved to Third Field Force hospital near Tan Son Nhut air base, where, after a lengthy operation, he was transferred to Guam to convalesce and regain his real name. Healed, the recently promoted Captain Callaghan then commanded a signal company, where the trials and tribulations of a garrison environment tested his perseverance. Visit the book's website: www.SaigonWarrior.com