“50 Years After Vietnam” is a war memoir light on blood and battles. It charts the physical challenges and emotional swings of a youthful draftee who fought in Vietnam in 1967 and 1968. Bill Lord was one of the 19 and 20 year-olds who were drafted prior to the National Lottery. They were in most respects just kids. They were part of a troop buildup that put more than a half million Americans in Vietnam during on of the most explosive times in country' history. Our soldiers were traumatized by combat in a war no one could explain to them. By time they returned home much of the country blamed them for our missteps in Vietnam. The effects of war and the chilly reception at home left many soldiers challenged to rejoin a society they now barely recognized. Author Bill Lord had a 45 year career as a jounralist and has captured the essense of all this turmoil in this stunning new book. He tells a very personal story that includes often hilarious escapades along with the life alterning tragedies that affecting Vietnam soldiers for the rest of their lives.
