remfs - Softcover

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Richard Galli writes: Vietnam was the Great Event of my generation. We deserved a better Great Event. We did the best we could with the one they gave us.

I found in Vietnam a group of young men and women who were brave, honest, selfless and decent. Some of them were also smart as hell. And funny? You have no idea. Neither my memory nor my writing does them justice.

Over the last thirty years, other authors have written books about the war’s destruction and despair. Other books have maintained the politically correct assessment that there was nothing to be found in Vietnam but bad examples.

In "remf"s, I didn’t want to take you where you’ve been before. I wanted to take you to a quieter place, where despite all we know about that misbegotten war in Vietnam, there is room – in my memory, and perhaps now in yours as well – for a smile, a chuckle, even a laugh or two.

At its gentle heart, "remfs" is about longing and a sense of duty. We felt the terrible force of an obligation that we owed to others who felt the same obligation to us. We longed desperately to believe that it was right to do what we were doing, that even in a bad war we could find something – anything – to be proud of. And we longed to be home, hoping we would be welcome when we got there.

I thought it was time to recapture the feeling I had in Vietnam, when my equilibrium was ruined but my sense of wonder took its place. It was so sad, knowing it was all such a waste. But it was so wonderful, that we kept each other’s heads up and our faith alive while we soldiered through it.

"remfs" is a chance to see the Vietnam generation in a different way than we have ever been portrayed before. It’s your chance to see us at our confused, conflicted, hopeful, adorable best.

Three million Americans served in the Vietnam War. You would have been proud to know most of us. In a better war, you would have loved us.