Spoils of War PDF
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A factual account of the sad, brutal, funny, violent side of military life in Vietnam — and its impact on the lives of the men when they return home ChariesJ .L evy SPOILS orWAR And they [ARVN soldiers] come out and they said, ‘‘We have 4 wounded veteran, wounded veteran.” We [U.S. marines] said, “So what?” They said, ‘He doesn’t have one leg... Could you give him a ride up to the hospital?” “Fuck him. Let him hop.” Charles Levy is a sociologist who has spent the past few years talking with American veterans who fought in Vietnam. More re- cently he has begun to testify at some of their trials, military and civilian; often the charge has. either been homicide or assault with intent to kill. In this book he forces us to listen with him to the voices of these (mostly young) veterans who found themselves in a war where technology defeated itself. In high school, explained one ex-marine, ‘‘winning is all | was ever taught,’’.but in Vietnam, and finally at home again, which is now the state penitentiary, he has found it ‘‘very hard to get used to being a loser.”’ The connection between losing in the guerilla war and losing again in civilian life is what this book explores, It is a harrowing encounter for the reader. The stories, as told by the men themselves, show how too = many veterans, who find themselves pur- * suing violence, soon are overtaken, and finally consumed, by it. COLLEGE OF ALAMEDA, LIBRARY DS Dw Levy, Charles J A68 Spoils of war eee e e EElad Pek . i e ee BS ’ e T eBeS 5 d ahae sS e b we : ai aoe i aa LOT AEee aN | aN Oh ee ea ee | ote ko nea a yn i ee * Pe h ee / d 4, gh a? mS, : a ia : Fae SPOILS OF: WAR SPOILS OF WAR 74 Charles J. Levy Houghton Mifflin Company Boston 1974 A portion of this book appeared in slightly different form in the October 1971 issue of transaction. Copyright © 1971 by Transaction, Inc. First Printing v Copyright © 1973 by Charles J. Levy All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Levy, Charles J Spoils of war. I. Vietnamese Conflict, 1961— —Psychological aspects. 2. Veterans—United States. I. Title. DS557.A68L45 959.704'38 73-12973 ISBN 0-395-15460-X Printed in the United States of America
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