Major Steven E. Cook (Retired) Don't Cry For Us, Saigon

Annotation

The United States military did not lose the Vietnam War! The South Vietnamese government lost the Vietnam War. With many inaccurate books, biased statements, lack of understanding, and facts, I decided to write a Vietnamese history book with emphasis on the Second Indochina War. This book will correct many of those misconceptions about the Vietnam War, answer controversial questions, and give readers a microcosm and basic dynamics of the Vietnam War. I recorded and archived highlights of the Vietnam War and the accounts of American military heroes whose sacrifices and heroic exploits might otherwise be lost to history. The poignant, riveting, and the gripping reality of war and the demons and misfortune of the Vietnam veterans will be depicted in the book. This book is intended for a variety of audiences: veterans, family members, gold star mothers, organizations, agencies, clubs, college students, faculty, and history buffs. Search-and-destroy operations in South Vietnam will be described in comprehensive detail and why President Johnson later changed the name of search-and-destroy operations to reconnaissance in force. This book will show that the worst atrocity of the Vietnam War occurred in the United States when America shunned and discriminated against its Vietnam War veterans and gold star mothers!This book is a first-person account of high school teenyboppers suddenly answering the call for duty and turning into elite combat warriors virtually overnight. Vietnam War veterans saw and experienced horrific savage and direct combat repeatedly that humans aren't intended to see. Testimonies of seasoned combat Airborne Infantry soldiers, Pathfinders, and Special Forces whose average age was twenty-one will be depicted through empirical vignettes. These first-person vignettes will describe the carnage of firefights, mortar attacks, the stench of human decay and flesh torn and broken, and the camaraderie and bonds of men at war. Do not judge these warrior-leader heroes unless you have walked a mile in their jungle boots through a jungle in a combat environment. Remember, once upon a time, we were all like you!Myths of the Vietnam War will be refuted, rebutted, and debunked. Agent Orange and other herbicides used in the Vietnam War will be discussed. This book will help all veterans, their families, and America to better understand and come to some closure and aid in catharsis. We are awesome! It is chic and vogue to be a Vietnam veteran now.