Presents the stories of 48 American and Asian witnesses who participated in the Vietnam War, including POW Dan Pitzer learning of the American build-up from his bamboo cage; Vietnam operative, Nguyen Tuong Lai describing a terrorist run into Saigon; and, Cambodian teacher Kassie Neou charming his executioners with fairy tales learned from the BBC.
"To Bear Any Burden is necessary to understand the most significant aspect of the Indochina wars: the human one." —Tran Van Dinh, author of Blue Dragon White Tiger: A Tet Story
"At least this reader would like to spend hours if not days talking to each of the people within these pages." —Jack Reynolds, Network Correspondent, NBC
" . . . remarkable insight into the human aspect of the war." —Library Journal
The 48 American and Asian veterans, refugees, and officials who speak in this book come from widely divergent backgrounds. In their narratives we hear them reliving crucial moments in the preparation, execution, and aftermath of war. It is a riveting, eyewitness account of the war and also reclaims from this tragic continuum larger patterns of courage and dedication.