GOODBYE VIETNAM is a story of love, war and espionage.
A few hundred CIA agents and Army Intelligence Officers were sent to isolated areas of South Vietnam to confront the Viet Cong with a message: we will provide you with financial incentives to switch sides or you will be "neutralized."
Within this highly charged atmosphere a love affair develops between a mysterious Vietnamese girl and a young Army lieutenant. Despite language, cultural and political barriers their relationship strengthens. But war rips them apart. They are separated by geography and are apart for years. They communicate by letter until it become too dangerous for her. When the communist take over the country, she becomes a "Boat Person" searching for her lost love.
Countless numbers of South Vietnamese fled the communists in all manner of watercraft. They set sail with no clear destination in mind, only the hope they would be rescued. Half died in the attempt and many others were returned to Vietnam against their will, where their punishment was severe.
This story takes the reader from the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, to Indonesia, to Singapore, to Oregon, and to South Carolina. On the way the page turning will learn about the culture and corruption of Vietnam; the gathering of intelligence at the grassroots level; military decisions-making and blunders; the cruelty of the communist regime; the suffering of the Boat People; and the courage and perseverance of individuals.
The author, Dell Isham, is one of the few surviving Phoenix Advisors who can write authoritatively on the attempt to undermine the Viet Cong during the "Vietnamization" period of the Vietnam War in 1970 and 1971.
The author has history degrees from Weber State College (Ogden, Utah) and Colorado State University (Fort Collins, Colorado). During the war in Vietnam he was awarded the Bronze Star. He was a state senator, mayor and lobbyist in the State of Orego
