Bloods, by Wallace Terry, was a great book--disturbing, enlightening, depressing, thought-provoking. I hadn't read any Vietnam veteran literature for quite some time and this compilation of oral history narratives reminded me of what a complicated war that was and what a shattering experience it was for so many veterans.
The experiences of black veterans is the focus of this collection; their additional difficulties dealing with race issues made their war stories more interesting and in many ways different from the accounts of white or other race combatants who survived the conflict that spanned a decade.
What really struck me about the stories presented in this book is the range of attitudes the men expressed toward Vietnam, the Vietnamese people, the military, the U.S., their reception when they returned home, as well as the impact of race relations and the civil rights struggle that was going on during that time.
Some of the men were bitter or traumatized by what they saw and did while there and angry with the government who sent them there, especially when they were treated so poorly at home. Others were not critical of the military or the policies that required them to fight. Some believed we were right to go there and still believe it. Some started out believing in the mission but changed their minds after they'd been there a while.
Some didn't see much action; others saw too much. A number of them spoke frankly about atrocities that they witnessed (on both sides) or participated in. Those were chilling accounts. Those who seemed to be the most well adjusted were ones who stayed in the military and made a career out of it. I've always thought that to be true; being around other soldiers probably allowed them to adjust to peacetime in a more gradual way. They had people to talk to who understood what they went through. They weren't judged or feared; they were appreciated.
I've read other accounts from Vietnam veterans, but I think this collection was the most balanced, giving a fuller picture, I think, than those which try to present a more unified view of the war, whether pro or con. I recommend it highly, especially now that we're having to deal with a whole new generation of war veterans. Even though we give them parades and presents, awards and decorations, we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that they are still going to be deeply affected in unpredictable ways by what they have gone through.
And I think we should not lose sight of the fact that many of the Vietnam vets are still out there, still suffering and continue to need our help. Just because we want to forget how we treated them doesn't mean we should forget them.
After Bloods I read a light, fluffy little book that was really more of a reference book: French Fun: The Real Spoken Language of Quebec, by Steve Timmins. It was a dictionary-style collection of French Canadian idioms. It's designed for English-speaking students of French who live in Canada, though, as the author admits, it can also be useful for non-Canadian English speakers. There were some pretty funny idioms that, when translated literally, evoked a comical mental picture, accompanied, in some cases, by an actual picture--a drawing depicting its literal meaning. It was a much more entertaining read than I had imagined it would be. Another "T" book accomplished!
Until next time!
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