The Vietnam War Trilogy

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.

Essay from the year 2000 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: Peace and Conflict Studies, Security, grade: 71% (Distinction), Monash University Melbourne (School for Social and Political Inquiry), course: The Vietnam War, language: English, abstract: Oliver Stone is probably one of the most controversial film directors in Hollywood. His films - like JFK or Natural Born Killers - often receive enthusiastic praise as well as fierce criticism. A subject that frequently reoccurs in Stone's work is the Vietnam War. Stone, who is a veteran of the war, wrote and directed three films that directly deal with the conflict and which he calls his "Vietnam trilogy": Platoon, (1986) Born on the Fourth of July (1989) and Heaven and Earth (1993). Apart from those, many of his films make references to Vietnam, most obvious JFK (1991) and Nixon (1995) and to a lesser extend The Doors (1991). This essay focuses on the three films of the Vietnam trilogy. To what extend do they represent the truth about the realities of the war and how are they influenced by the director's own experiences as a GI in Vietnam? First I will give a brief Biography of Oliver Stone, followed by a chronological discussion of the envisaged films with reference to the questions presented above. Due to the large nature or this topic, I will only broaching some of the numerous aspects and interpretations of the films. [...]

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.

Three powerful plays about the Vietnam War that will capture your attention... Survivor is the story of a man who survives intense combat in Vietnam but is haunted by the experience and racked with guilt, years after returning home. The war still exists within him as he goes down a precipitous path of self-destruction. The Innocents of War tells the story of the family of a soldier who is MIA (Missing in Action). Over a period of twenty-plus years, the effects of his uncertain fate plays out on each family member differently. In the end, harsh reality takes a surprising twist. Rap depicts combat veterans who have returned home from Vietnam and years later are struggling to sort out their lives. Through group therapy at the Veterans Administration, they try to make sense of readjusting from the combat zone to civilian life. For many of the men, it's difficult. For some, it's impossible. There is a complex tapestry woven from the characters in each play, showing how war can affect each individual emotionally, mentally, and physically. Veterans will be able to relate to the aftereffects of combat, and those who haven't experienced it will walk away with a clearer understanding of the impact of the war experience on both the soldiers and their families. The Vietnam Trilogy presents a realistic view of the men who fought, the ones who died, and the ones who were psychologically scarred by the war.

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

Triumph Regained: The Vietnam War, 1965–1968 is the long-awaited sequel to the immensely influential Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954–1965. Like its predecessor, this book overturns the conventional wisdom using a treasure trove of new sources, many of them from the North Vietnamese side. Rejecting the standard depiction of U.S. military intervention as a hopeless folly, it shows America’s war to have been a strategic necessity that could have ended victoriously had President Lyndon Johnson heeded the advice of his generals. In light of Johnson’s refusal to use American ground forces beyond South Vietnam, General William Westmoreland employed the best military strategy available. Once the White House loosened the restraints on Operation Rolling Thunder, American bombing inflicted far greater damage on the North Vietnamese supply system than has been previously understood, and it nearly compelled North Vietnam to capitulate. The book demonstrates that American military operations enabled the South Vietnamese government to recover from the massive instability that followed the assassination of President Ngo Dinh Diem. American culture sustained public support for the war through the end of 1968, giving South Vietnam realistic hopes for long-term survival. America’s defense of South Vietnam averted the imminent fall of key Asian nations to Communism and sowed strife inside the Communist camp, to the long-term detriment of America’s great-power rivals, China and the Soviet Union.

A work that has served as a literary cornerstone for the Vietnam generation, The 13th Valley follows the strange and terrifying Vietnam combat experiences of James Chelini, a telephone-systems installer who finds himself an infantryman in territory controlled by the North Vietnamese Army. Spiraling deeper and deeper into a world of conflict and darkness, this harrowing account of Chelini's plunge and immersion into jungle warfare traces his evolution from a semipacifist to an all-out warmonger. The seminal novel on the Vietnam experience, The 13th Valley is a classic that illuminates the war in Southeast Asia like no other book.

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.