Nationalist in the Viet Nam Wars: Memoirs of a Victim Turned Soldier

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. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 8 Foreword......Page 10 Preface......Page 14 A Note on Vietnamese Names......Page 16 PART 1. A GRAIN OF SAND......Page 18 1 A Morning of Horror......Page 20 2 My Early Years and Education......Page 28 3 1945: The Year of Drastic Events......Page 42 4 On the Way to War......Page 62 PART 2. THE WAR OF RESISTANCE......Page 70 5 Take Up Arms!......Page 72 6 My Dark Years in War Begin......Page 79 7 Between Hammer and Anvil......Page 94 8 The Shaky Peace......Page 105 9 Bloodier Battles......Page 121 10 The Geneva Accords......Page 142 11 The Year of Changes......Page 158 PART 3. THE COGWHEEL......Page 166 12 To Be a Soldier......Page 168 13 Progress and Signs of Instability......Page 183 14 Mounting Pressure......Page 192 15 The Limited War......Page 217 16 The Year of the (Crippled) Dragon......Page 250 17 On the Down Slope......Page 278 18 Hearts and Minds......Page 297 19 Sài Gòn Commando......Page 313 PART 4. VICTORY OR DEFEAT......Page 334 20 The Tet Offensive......Page 336 21 Defeat on the Home Front......Page 359 22 The New Phase......Page 395 23 The Fiery Summer......Page 414 24 Hope Draining......Page 432 25 America 1974–75......Page 455 26 The End......Page 468 PART 5. AFTER THE WAR......Page 484 27 Prisoner......Page 486 28 Release......Page 534 PART 6. EPILOGUE......Page 560 29 On the Viet Nam War......Page 562 30 Ever in My Memory......Page 577 Notes......Page 592 B......Page 604 C......Page 605 D......Page 606 I......Page 607 L......Page 608 N......Page 609 P......Page 610 S......Page 611 T......Page 612 V......Page 613 W......Page 614 Y......Page 615