Reflections on the Vietnam War: A Fifty-Year Journey

Hunt, a retired high school teacher who was drafted and served a tour in Vietnam, offers a concise and simply written but engaging Vietnam War memoir in the form of extended, chapter-long answers to interview questions he submitted to a high school history class. He melds his experiences with his views of the war and an abbreviated history of the conflict for an audience of young adults and those with little knowledge of the Vietnam War. Hunt evocatively recounts growing up, getting drafted, his 1968–1969 Vietnam War service as a radio teletype operator with the 1st Infantry Division (including being subjected to rocket and mortar attacks and other war-zone dangers), and what it was like coming home. A particularly vivid section describes his flight home to Toledo, during which “a gentleman in a business suit” bought him a drink, and the flight attendants and other crew members welcomed him home. He also gives a revealing account of how he pushed for the landmark Agent Orange class action lawsuit in 1986, and of going to Washington in 1982 for the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial; he writes movingly of what it was like to march with his Vietnam War “brothers” in the Welcome Home parade. This above-average memoir does a nice job of introducing the Vietnam War experience to readers unfamiliar with it. (BookLife)