One common misconception of Vietnam was that the Viet Cong were all Communists. In truth, the Viet Cong were not "one big happy family of Communists," but were in as much disarray as the Saigon government. Some were indeed Communist, but others were Capitalist, and considered themselves "Nationalists." Some wanted to see North and South Vietnam united, and some wanted simply to rid themselves of a corrupt and tyrannical Saigon regime. This fact comes into sharp focus when Viet Cong Finance and Justice Minister, Truong Nhu Tang contacts Nu and Jim.
I have read scoreless memoirs of men unenthusiastically going to S.E. Asia, reluctantly drafted to fight in the swamp and mosquito infested jungles of Vietnam, or to Thailand, flying B-52 Bombers to bomb Vietnam's Communists back into the Stone Age. All had one thing in common: counting the days where they could catch their "Freedom Bird" so they could go "Back to The World." Jim Flannery had it backwards. Not only did he go to South Vietnam on his own volition, he enjoyed every minute of it, and had it not been for the threat of a North Vietnamese battalion searching for him, he would have stayed! This occurred at the height of the conflict, 1967 to 1969, considered to be the apex of this war. Living with an indigent Vietnamese family on a farm for two years, Flannery embodied U.S. President often used cliche "winning the hearts and minds of the people" by attempting to teach 600 students in the most rudimentary conditions imaginable. Chronicled in "Nu", Flannery describes his endeavors to inculcate indigenous students lacking a school building, funding, electricity or bathroom facilities. Anytime a teacher feels he or she has it rough, it would be wise to give this well written account of Flannery's to do the impossible: teach up to a thousand students with one teacher besides himself lacking books, money and school supplies, with an ever present threat of being attacked by an aggressive, war mongering North Vietnamese Army constantly posing a threat. This is the first memoir or history book I have encountered that asserts that most Viet Cong were capitalists, only desiring to oust the corrupt South Vietnamese government by whatever means. Was Flannery successful? Did anyone take him seriously? What happened to Nu and the school at An Tuc? To find out, you must read this amazing, true account packed with facts rarely revealed. A must read!
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Overview
One common misconception of Vietnam was that the Viet Cong were all Communists. In truth, the Viet Cong were not "one...