| This work is an exploration of an alternative history of the Vietnam War. It seeks to discover what historians can know about the nature of the Vietnam combat experience when they look closely at the artistic vernacular expressions composed by the war's witnesses while they were there. In addition, it argues for the vernacular voice a more prominent place among the respected body of historical literature treating the Vietnam War.;The study uses primarily the marching chants, folk songs, and poetry that the military life and the Vietnam War combat experience fostered so prolifically. Close examination of these sources reveals multitudes about combatants' lives and experiences in Vietnam, such as their individual, collective, and shared attitudes, beliefs, assumptions, and concerns. We should listen. |
