Author Description

In 2005, Deborah Nelson joined forces with military historian Nick Turse to investigate the largest compilation of records on Vietnam-era war crimes ever to surface. The declassified Army papers were erroneously released and have since been pulled from public circulation. The files contain reports of more than 300 confirmed atrocities, and 500 other cases the Army either couldn't prove or didn't investigate. The archive has letters of complaint to generals and congressmen, as well as reports of Army interviews with hundreds of men who served. Far from being limited to a few bad actors or rogue units, atrocities occurred in every Army division that saw combat. Torture was routine; so was the random killing of farmers, women and children. In most cases, no one was prosecuted. Here, Nelson goes beyond the documents and talks with many of those involved, both accusers and accused, to uncover their stories and learn how they deal with one of the most awful secrets of the Vietnam War.