by Frederick Downs, W.W. Norton, & Company, Inc., 1991, 341 pgs.
Why have the fissures separating the U.S. and its former enemies in South East Asia taken so long to heal? This fascinating memoir of five government missions to Hanoi in the late '80s opens the door to a soul struggling with our future. More than chronicling beginnings of aid to our former enemy, this book continues a personal epic journey.
The second book in this saga was the 1984 Aftermath: A Soldier's Return from Vietnam, which describes Downs' loss of an arm, a wife, friends and purpose in life to the war in Indochina. This new book continues the author's open Hoosier storytelling style and makes his work a trilogy. A 1978 memoir, The Killing Zone: My Life in the Vietnam War, deals with his combat experiences as an Army infantry lieutenant.
What makes his writing click is its Indiana plain speech. Downs doesn't waste time rehashing the morality of the war or impressing with sytlistic tricks. "Don't you wish you would have had these guys in your sights 20 years ago?," Downs says to a fellow government representative, also a Viêt Nam vet, as they prepared to meet the official welcoming committee in Hanoi at the beginning of their first visit. This mistrust of former enemies gradually turns to friendship and respect, especially towards a doctor who visits Downs and other officials in America.
As a background to the negotiations that Downs and his colleagues conducted with the Vietnamese, we learn that a number of powerful, though unnamed, American officials distrust this initiative. As a result of these negotiations under the direction of Gen. John Vessey, the American government allowed charitable organizations to bring humanitarian aid to Viêt Nam. I do not recall meeting VVRP by name in the book, but our spirit is here. Don't miss this trilogy.
- Sandy Primm, Defense Information Specialist, 7th Public Information Detachment, Long Binh, 1968-69
