American Experience

Read personal essays from a variety of people connected with the Vietnam War. Then share your own thoughts or comments.

Know How To Read a Great Book
A Hanoi writer reflects on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Vietnam: Few Heaven-Born Captains
An American Army officer portrays wrongheaded tactics in Vietnam.

Memory of a Paratrooper
A writer and artist who served in the South Vietnamese army outlines his wartime experiences and his creative present-day response.

An Amerasian Childhood in Da Nang
The son of a South Vietnamese mother and an American soldier describes his earliest years.

THE TIME (i remember): Chu Lia, Vietnam, 1965
A former Marine remembers his experience in Vietnam and reflects on God.

The Vietnam War and Vietnam
A writer with roots in both North and South Vietnam looks to Vietnam's long history to explain why the U.S. could not win the war.

Still in Hiding
An aid worker remembers wartime encounters with Vietnamese women and children, and describes women's roles as Viet Cong spies.

The Nui Ba Den
An American veteran shares his one pleasing memory of Vietnam.

The Vietnam War: Remember in Order to Forget
A writer and war veteran describes the toll war takes on young lives.

Why I Went to the War
A Red Cross worker describes her experience as a woman in a "men's war."

Five Poems About Vietnam
An poet offers glimpses into his personal experience in the U.S. Army.

The Volunteer
A veteran examines his decision, at age 17, to join the Marines right out of high school.