Author Description

For "They Wouldn't Let Us Win", Ronald H Dykes did in-depth interviews with fifteen Vietnam veterans from Jackson County, Alabama. In these interviews, the veterans graphically describe the extraordinarily difficult experiences they endured during their tour of duty. Most of them were teenagers who had little idea of where Vietnam was or what the war was about. Yet, they did serve, follow orders, and try to stay alive. When they returned to the United States, though, some of them were greeted with curses and spittle. Perhaps even worse, their peers at home seemed uninterested in their experiences in Vietnam. Despite the horrors of the war and their reception back in their country, most of them do not regret serving in Vietnam. They do regret, however, that the politicians "would not let us win". Dykes' thesis in this book is that readers like himself who were opposed to the war will be convinced that these veterans got a raw deal when they returned home.