Where can i find some vietnam stories? accounts of real combat situations or fictional action stories?

Question

hi all

my uncle served under the eagle and he never really talked until since he came back from serving in vietnam. he saw the whole fall of saigon. he died just over 2 weeks ago. id like to see what influneced his life so much - i never really took an interest being a girl in this sort of thing before.

thanks alot all.

god bless.

Answer 1

the library will have what you need. or goggle.

RIP for all tho's brave Vietnamese soliders. They tried to keep vietnam free, but even tho they failed they will always be remembered.

Answer 2

My father is a Vietnam Veteran (1964-1965), and he never really opened up about his Vietnam experiences until a few years ago. Until then, I learned much of what he had gone through from my Vietnamese relatives and other Vietnam Veterans who were more open to talking about their experiences. I can easily see why my father had been tight lipped about this for so long.

My father’s assignments were non-combat duties, but he had seen enough action to last a lifetime. He survived through three terrorist bombings and countless close call sniper shootings. His most tragic experience was the bombing of Ben Hoa Airbase in 1965, where he had to remove hundreds of dead bodies from the aftermath. I don’t blame him one bit for not wanting to tell such stories and relive those nightmares again, and I respect any Vietnam Veteran who chose not to share similar memories.

My father is not the only one in my family who has memories of the Vietnam War. I have several uncles who fought in either ARVN (South Vietnam) or NVA (North Vietnam). Those of my Vietnamese family who were not in direct combat were still directly affected by the War. They have incredible stories about combat, survival, being refugees, their journey to the U.S. and succeeding as American citizens. My Vietnamese family are much more open about their experiences than most all of the Vietnam Veterans that I had talked to.

What is most surprising to me was the information from my uncles who fought in the NVA. Contrary to Western opinions, the NVA and Viet Cong were not very confident that they would win and it was a surprise to them that the U.S. stopped supporting South Vietnam so quickly. Most of the NVA stayed in North Vietnam after Saigon fell expecting the U.S. to retaliate by invading and capturing their country. They remained on high alert for months until they were confident that nothing would happen. Long story short - they were just as scared (and probably more scared) about going to combat as their American or ARVN counterparts.  

Three of my uncles were imprisoned in re-education camps for years. One uncle had all of hie arms and legs broken as well as his left eye ripped out of his head. Another uncle was imprisoned for twelve years due to his role with the South Vietnamese secret service. He was beaten so bad that he has permanent brain and hearing damage. Both have more reason than anyone I know to hate the communists for what had been done to them, yet both have put such issues behind them and visit Vietnam regularly.

I honor my father and the rest of my families who had been directly affected by the Vietnam War by studying everything I can about the War and Vietnam so I can better understand what they had gone through. I’ve been studying all this since I was in junior high, and I still find new things to learn all the time. Perhaps you can do the same to honor your uncle.

Thanks to the Internet, a lot of information is much easier to find than when I was doing this as a kid. A good place to start is Wikipedia (http://wikipedia.com), which has very good general information and pretty good specific information.

Good luck, and God bless your uncle and all Vietnam Veterans. Their sacrifice will always be remembered by me.

Answer 3

God bless all those who fought in an attempt to keep freedom for South Vietnam.  Though it failed, we still have hope that in the future, the battle will finally be won.

My family and I are ardent anti-communists.  My grandpa was persecuted and incarcerated for what??? - "Allegedly supporting the Imperialists?"

Answer 4

There are many good books about the conflict as seen from both sides of the war.  Go to the library and ask the reference girl to help you out.  You will be overwhelmed with the amount of material available.  Also. you can go down to your local VFW or Elks lodge. ( they always like a nice girl to come in and they will talk your ear off and try to get you drunk)  I would not be surprised to have you find out info or books about your fathers particular outfit. I did the same when my father passed away and was amazed at the amount of detail there was about my fathers squadron.  He was a pilot!  luck with that.

Answer 5

It is very hard for most that have been there to talk about it.  I might consider it for the right reason.  Contact me If interested

Answer 6

there are COUNTLESS  number of books about combat  at all levels , just walk into your local libraty and ask.. one book i'm reading now called "fortune favors the bold" is the biographical account of a british llrp [ long rang reconocence patrol soldier] who severed w/ the 101st airborn in viet nam. it can be obtained on amazon .com...... i find it very accurate of the life of a soldier during that time.