Home to War : A History of the Vietnam Veterans Movement

Engrossing book despite some notable flaws:
Nicosia provides a history of the Vietnam war veterans movements, particularly those concerned with ending the War. The reviewer who was surprised by the "leftward" tilt either didn't read the book cover, any of the published reviews or the book, itself. The book has several significant flaws, which I'll get out of the way first. Like seemingly most contemporary nonfiction, it could have used assertive editing. The chronology of events in the book gets confusing particularly during the last third of the book, where one lurches back and forth in time and it's easy to lose track of where various people fit and how their actions are linked across time. A better organized text probably could have been a bit shorter. Another significant problem is that Nicosia's funding by the Vietnam Veterans of America is buried in the acknowledgments, although he appears to freely criticize the actions of that organization and its past leadership. Finally, Nicosia relies on secondary sources for his data on medical, social and psychiatric problems among Vietnam era veterans and it is unclear whether his interviews with relevant people like psychiatrist Arthur Blank would have helped in interpreting these data. As it is, correlation seems to get confused with causation and some of the data simply seem inconsistent or include studies which were well known to be "outliers". It's been said that journalists don't like numbers, unfortunately, concepts simple enough to teach in an introductory social science course seem to get by them. Although I was too young to serve in Vietnam, I knew many who did, including some who died there. Some of them (including the dead) opposed the war but went into the military, anyway, for a variety of reasons. In my later life, I knew people who had been active in the antiwar movement. I also briefly worked in the VA system and with Vietnam vets in the Department of Defense, and later went to Vietnam as a tourist and as a consultant (under the supervision of a US Army veteran of the Vietnam War). As it happens, I've also crossed paths with a couple minor figures in the book, who played significant roles in the veterans peace movement (although I hadn't known about that part of their lives). So, despite my age and lack of service, the book deals with a world that is very real to me. I can recall the skepticism of claims about PTSD by VA clinicans (ditto the skepticism about Gulf War syndrome) and can easily identify with many of the controversies here. Despite my own work, my visits to Vietnam and my extensive past reading on the subject, I was moved anew by the stories of returning vets, what they had seen in Vietnam, and what they experienced in the US. On a less personal and more journalistic/historical level, the book vividly describes the political schisms in the antiwar movement: veteran-related and otherwise. Despite Nicosia's obvious passsions, he recognizes shortcomings and destructive actions of many in the movement. For those of us who recall the stereotype of the "crazed" Vietnam Vet, he vividly describes how this evolved from slow emergence of PTSD and the various public faces of stressed and strung out veterans, as well as the grassroots efforts to address Veterans' needs. Nicosia also describes the courage and tenacity of veterans who worked tirelssly as advocates and as service providers to their peers. He points out the legislative contributions of Vietnam Vets such as Tom Daschle and John Kerry as well as the showboating of supposed friends of veterans such as Alan Cranston and Sonny Montgomery. There are poignant parallels to our own time as Nixon cut veteran's benefits to help pay for the war. Nicosia chronicles the tensions with traditional veterans' organizations and the ways in which organizations dominated by WWII and Korean War veterans fought against efforts to address Vietnam War veterans' needs, in part to protect their own entitlements. He also describes how veterans of the different wars began to come together over time and how one-time protesters like Kerry built bridges to more conservative politicans for the benefit of Vietnam vets. The book, thankfully, does not get bogged down in subjects that have been extensively treated elsewhere like Watergate's Vietnam-related events (e.g., the Ellsberg burglary) and the drama surrounding the Vietnam War memorial. OTOH, people unfamiliar with SDS, Another Mother for Peace (an organization where tv mom and ex-Republican Donna Reed, played a role) the Weathermen, etc. would benefit from a little more description of these organizations. One activist who plays an interesting role here is Jane Fonda, who seemed to take a genuine interest in the veterans concerns. Perhaps it was a penance for her reign as "Hanoi Jane" or maybe something else. I hadn't been aware of that side of her and the book contains enough little surprises like this to interest even the well read reader and overcome the shortcomings of the book.

consiring to commit assassinations:
I am one of the Vietnam veterans referred to on page 217, the ones that didn't agree with anything the VVAW had to say.Someone wrote in their revue " the myth of civilian disrespect to the soldiers during this period of time", I would have to say it felt quite real to me. The only reason I checked this book out of my local library was to confirm a couple of things about John Kerry and the VVAW. All my questions were answered either by the book or by a recent interview with Gerald Nicosia. The first was that the other members of VVAW felt that John Kerry was just using the organization to gain public notoriety to help him with his political career. The second was that he was at the november 1971 meeting. This is when the anti war VVAW considered assassination of pro war Senators. Simply amazing!

First rate:
Nicosia's book is an excellent piece of research, and provides insight into an historically importatnt time. Maybe in his next edition, he will include some of the findings from the extensive files the FBI kept on VVAW, and lay to rest some of the urban legends being spread even by at least one reviewer here. For instance, the VVAW "meeting" in Kansas City was actually a series of meetings over a four day period. Neither the participants nor the FBI files show Kerry present at any meeting where "assassinations" were discussed in any form. In fact, the FBI informants do not mention any such discussion at all, much less a vote. By all accounts of those there, one individual stood up and started riffing, and once people realized he wasn't joking, he was shouted down. As Nicosia points out time and again, nonviolence was an underlying principle of VVAW. Even the FBI concluded that Kerry was in no way associated with any sort of violent activity or discussion, ever. Nicosia is a myth-buster. He has his hands full in this election year.

Useful history of the Veteran's Movement:
This book offers a comprehensive view of the veterans movement, giving very detailed accounts of the forces that helped swing public opinion, force acceptance of PTSD, and began the investigation into the effects of agent orange. While some of the events are detailed far beyond their impact, this book presents a human face on the leaders of the movement.

At Times We Veterans Were Our Own Worst Enemy:
Well researched and documented book regarding the struggles and victories, mostly minor very few major, experienced by Viet Nam Veterans as they returned and attempted assimilation into the greater society. Describes in detail the politics that confronted them, the sham that was or may still be the Veterans Administration and other government agencies who all seemed to be operating in denial during the era. Must reading for all Viet Nam Era Veterans to understand and gain an appreciation for those who continued to fight for us on the home front not only to end the war but to be properly compensated by a government and politicians who would not accept responsibility for their actions of sending us to war.