The war behind me
Subtitle: Vietnam veterans confront the truth about U.S. war crimes : inside the Army's secret archive of investigations
By: Deborah Nelson.
Publisher: Basic Books
Published: 2008
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 296
ISBN-13: 9780465005277
Subjects: Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Atrocities; Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- United States; Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Veterans -- United States; War crimes -- Vietnam
Description: In 2005, Deborah Nelson joined forces with military historian Nick Turse to investigate the largest compilation of records on Vietnam-era war crimes ever to surface. The declassified Army papers were erroneously released and have since been pulled from public circulation. The files contain reports of more than 300 confirmed atrocities, and 500 other cases the Army either couldn't prove or didn't investigate. The archive has letters of complaint to generals and congressmen, as well as reports of Army interviews with hundreds of men who served. Far from being limited to a few bad actors or rogue units, atrocities occurred in every Army division that saw combat. Torture was routine; so was the random killing of farmers, women and children. In most cases, no one was prosecuted. Here, Nelson goes beyond the documents and talks with many of those involved, both accusers and accused, to uncover their stories and learn how they deal with one of the most awful secrets of the Vietnam War.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: What was right then; title: Field phones; title: A My Lai a month; title: Body count; title: Laying it to rest; title: The war behind them.