Whitewash/Blackwash: Myths of the Vietnam War
Editor’s Note:
With their book, Whitewash/Blackwash: Myths of the Vietnam War, Vietnam veterans Bill Laurie and R.J. Del Vecchio have done a tremendous service to the brave Americans who served there, and to the legacy of this long misunderstood war. Whitewash/Blackwash is a brief introduction to the Vietnam War, and the myths that have surrounded it all these years. In its 60 pages, it illustrates how the commonly accepted history of Vietnam has been filled with errors and misinformation. More importantly, it offers a guide toward finding the books and resources which will help put the war in its proper historical context. This makes it an excellent introduction to the war for students and young people. We strongly encourage our readers to put a copy in the hands of a young person they know, to give them the tools to find out, for themselves, the history of America’s involvement in Vietnam.
Rather than continue to make the case for this book ourselves, we will leave it to Jeremiah Denton—former Navy Admiral, United States Senator, and prisoner of war of the North Vietnamese for eight years.
Whitewash/Blackwash
From the preface
This little book begins to fill in, at long last, a deadly vacuum, which is the lack of truth about the facts and significances of the Vietnam War Era. That emptiness has insulted the honor of veterans, denied them recognition for their bravery and sacrifices, and made our whole society poorer for the lack of real understanding of what took place in that time, and afterwards.
The book provides, in concise and very readable form, more than enough refutation of the major myths about the Vietnam War. Beyond that, and much more importantly, it provides strong motivation for our nation to undertake correction of the myths and appreciation of the truth. We must counter the flaws in our educational system and the media that have supported the myths.
The effort is now clearly in our critical national interest. This book is a vital, immediately useable tool, and advantage must be taken of its reasonable exposures of the myths, and how they came about and were nourished and spread, so that the deadly cycle will be recognized and stamped out. In this increasingly dangerous world, this nation cannot afford to see that cycle recur. The healing that recognition of the truths in this book can bring to America will help us attain the degree of national unity which is essential to our remaining a strong and effective force for good in the world.
– Adm. Jeremiah Denton, USN-Ret
