Home To War: A History of the Vietnam Veterans' Movement

Gerald Nicosia

Carroll & Graf Publ., 2004 - Technology & Engineering - 689 pages

As a new generation comes of age, Home to War presents a vivid portrait of American soldiers who faced rejection by the nation in whose name they fought, and virtual abandonment by the government that sent them to risk their lives. In spite of formidable obstacles, these young Vietnam veterans joined together and committed themselves to heroic battles on the home front, from their unsung role in the antiwar movement to their unflagging campaign for medical help and compensation. There is Jan Barry, a disillusioned former West Point cadet who founded Vietnam Veterans Against the War, an organization that would become a beacon of hope for returning vets; Al Hubbard, a charismatic former Black Panther who led thousands of angry veterans to the steps of the Capitol to protest the war and the government's shabby treatment of its veterans; Ron Kovic, whose outrageous-and courageous-stunts, uncensored comments, and provocative politics drew needed attention to the cause; and many others whose inspiring struggles served themselves, their fellow soldiers, and their country. Encompassing some thirty years of activism, readjustment, and healing, Home to War is a fitting tribute to the unbreakable courage, idealism, and decades-long endurance of this generation of American soldiers.

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A former draft resister who felt he had "a moral duty not to fight in Vietnam," Nicosia (Memory Babe: A Critical Biography of Jack Kerouac) interviewed some 600 men who did take part in the war and ...

About the author

GERALD NICOSIA is the author of "Memory Babe", which won the Distinguished Young Writer Award from the National Society of Arts and Letters while still a work-in-progress. It remains widely regarded as the definitive work on Jack Kerouac. Nicosia lives in Corte Madera, CA.

Anthony Swofford served in a U.S. Marine Corps Surveillance and Target Acquisition/Scout-Sniper platoon during the Gulf War. After the war, he was educated at American River College; the University of California, Davis; and the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop. He has taught at the University of Iowa and Lewis and Clark College. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in "The New York Times, Harper's, Men's Journal, The Iowa Review, " and other publications. A Michener-Copernicus Fellowship recipient, he lives in New York.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Home To War: A History of the Vietnam Veterans' Movement
• Author: Gerald Nicosia
• Contributor: Anthony Swofford
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publ., 2004
• ISBN: 0786714034, 9780786714032
• Length: 689 pages
• Subjects: History / Military / Vietnam War; Social Science / Sociology / General; Technology & Engineering / Military Science