Portrait of a Tragedy: America and the Vietnam War

Our town librarian asked me to take this book home and rate it. As a Vietnam vet, she was curious for my review and reaction. I must say the book is presented in a dispassionate way, but chronicles the movement of our involvement in this far Asian country over the years, as young people need to know about. I was a helicopter pilot in the Mekong Delta, stationed at Vinh Long with the 175th Outlaws, one of the most affectionate helicopter units in-country. I am very familiar with many of the episodes and locales featured in the book. I would recommend PORTRAIT OF A TRAGEDY as an historical overview of the conflict, but it lacks the passion of the years describing all that went on--there and in the USA. It is well constructed, and for those people who cannot figure why we ever got involved in this entanglement, it could present the situation in a rational dialogue for them to think about. My book centers on the experiences of flying helicopters and the camaraderie experienced by the Army aviators in this war.