5 books to understand the Vietnam War's legacy

My name is Cody LeRoy Wilson. I am a Vietnamese American, living through the Asian American diaspora experience. My mother is a first-generation immigrant of unusual circumstance: adopted by an American soldier and raised in rural West Virginia.

My connection to my homeland was essentially cut off, and I grew up absent of Asian culture or tradition. As I got older, I became invested in researching Vietnam and its great civil war. After reading many books about war, I realized I knew very little about the people who actually lived through war; I had no image in my brain as to what everyday civilian life was like in Vietnam, or what soldiers experienced firsthand in combat.

Starting with my very own family in my first book, Did My Grandfather Kill My Grandfather?, to be published in early 2017 by Blue Ear Books, my goal as a writer is to uplift the lives of people impacted by the Vietnam War: Americans, Vietnamese, and beyond.

These five books gave me insight into people who lived through, fought through, and survived the Vietnam War, and into how the conflict impacted their lives.

Novel Without A Name by Duong Thu Huong

Duong Thu Huong was my first glimpse into the footsteps of Northern Vietnamese soldiers. Her firsthand accounts of battle in her twenties painted the picture all too clearly. The life of a soldier, no matter the side, is filled with immense circumstances. The brutality of America’s losses was painted very clearly in my textbooks growing up, but I always knew there was another side, of civilians and military men and women counting their losses, suffering the same war. Duong fought for the north, later advocated for democratic political reform, and eventually became imprisoned by the Communist Party, and her work is now banned in Communist Vietnam. Her stories need to be remembered, as they are a true glimpse into the lives of Northern service men and women.

Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes

I’ve always wanted to look at my white grandfather as a hero; he was a Bronze Star and Purple Heart recipient. But I had mixed feelings about the military in my younger years. Matterhorn helped me remember all the tides of war that American soldiers went through - what my grandfather went through. Matterhorn is a triumph, a gritty story of American servicemen serving their country in a heinous war, and the effects it had on one’s soul. I found it easy to damn American soldiers when I was a teenager; I saw them as “the bad guys.” But Matterhorn opened my eyes to the humanity of those brave men America sent to the jungle and helped me understand the turmoil they experienced firsthand in Vietnam.

When Heaven and Earth Changed Places by Le Ly Haslip

There are no words to truly describe the experience I had reading Le Ly’s book. Her life on pages is a looking glass into the lives of thousands and thousands of Vietnamese who suffered from a war outside their own control. If you’ve ever sought to deepen your understanding of the complexities of civilian life in Vietnam before, during, and after America’s campaign in Vietnam, read this book. I know my people’s history better because Le Ly had the courage to share her story. Le Ly’s book unveiled countless truths to me and taught me there are many complexities when it comes to being Vietnamese.

The Greatest Beer Run Ever by John “Chick” Donohue & J.T. Molloy

I searched for all kinds of perspectives involving the Vietnam War, and this book was one of my favorites. The story doesn’t focus on the battles and the destruction, although the brutality of war is felt, but it offers a perfect example of the bond formed between soldiers, the brotherhood they share, and how far they are willing to go for one another. Donohue’s unique experience offers a look into the day-to-day of soldiers and civilians, American and Vietnamese, living their lives under the umbrella of war. Personally, I thought of my grandfather while reading this book; I felt the same kind of chivalry, loyalty, and brevity that my granddad had coming from Donohue.

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

I stumbled upon this book in a free library box while on a walk in Queens. The story of poor Chinese farmers fleeing for better lives gripped my heart, and it may have been the first book I ever read with Asian protagonists. I started reading and later found out that Pearl S. Buck and I both call West Virginia home. She was a white woman, daughter of Christian missionaries who raised her in China, and she wrote about the culture and life of the people there. Her unique perspective based on her unusual upbringing highlights the importance of empathy towards our common man, and how there are more shared common struggles binding people together than differences that divide us. Pearl inspired me as a fellow West Virginia writer, but also as a person raised under unusual circumstances in a foreign land. She made me believe that I could write for all people within my tribe, even if they don’t look a thing like me.

Cody LeRoy Wilson’s memoir Did My Grandfather Kill My Grandfather? will be published in early 2027 by Blue Ear Books. He also wrote and performs in the acclaimed one-man play of the same title.