Red Rivers in a Yellow Field: Memoirs of the Vietnam Era

The year 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of the Tet Offensive, one of the major events of the Vietnam War. The decade also marks the 50th class reunion for high school and college classes of the 1960s. While for most classmates a school reunion prompts recollections of halcyon days of dating, sports, fraternities, and folk songs, to many young men of the era–some of whom received diplomas in one hand and draft notices in the other–the ‘60s meant Vietnam.

Within these pages, thirty-four veterans of the Vietnam era present short memoirs of their personal experiences in the military. Events are documented in their own words by members of four major branches of the military–officers and enlisted. Now fifty years older, these one-time Soldiers and Sailors, Marines and Airmen, exchange their stories and talk of a brotherhood that went well beyond the camaraderie of a college fraternity or social club.

Between the lines, there is heroism, humor, and moving sentiments to be found and preserved for generations to come.