Customer Reviews

Deliver Us from Evil

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"Deliver Us from Evil," by Tom Dooley, is the author's memoir of his participation, while serving as a U.S. Navy medical officer, in a humanitarian effort to help Vietnamese refugees flee from the Communist-controlled north to South Vietnam from 1954 to 1955. The book has a copyright date of 1956. The 1961 Signet paperback edition includes Dr. Dooley's 1961 obituary and a foreword by Admiral Arleigh Burke.

In this book Dooley covers his service on board the U.S.S. _Montague_, his work at a refugee camp on the outskirts of the city of Haiphong, and his ties to a Vietnamese orphanage. Overall it's a vivid, interesting narrative that includes many striking details. Particularly fascinating are Dooley's details about the complex effort involved in building and sustaining the refugee camp. He covers such practical issues as latrine facilities, and also addresses the challenge of overcoming cultural and linguistic barriers. His insights still seem timely as U.S. forces engage in humanitarian and "nation building" operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Another strong section is his colorful description of the bazaar at Haiphong.

The book does have problematic aspects. At times his language seems forced and melodramatic. Too often the text reads like overt anti-Communist propaganda, rather than a straightforward accounting of the facts. Dooley tries too hard to tug at the readers' heartstrings. Still, a real sense of his affection and respect for the Vietnamese people seems to shine through, and I found sections of the book, especially those dealing with the Vietnamese children, to be quite moving.

I recommend that readers of this book also read the relevant sections of Randy Shilts' monumental work of military history, "Conduct Unbecoming." Shilts devotes three chapters to the tragic saga of Tom Dooley. Particularly disturbing are Shilts' accusations that Dooley's accounts of Communist atrocities in "Deliver Us" were "unsubstantiated allegations," "arguably fiction." Shilts also discusses the troubling and scandalous circumstances regarding Dooley's discharge from the Navy.

The 1961 edition of "Deliver Us" is a compelling historical artifact; the front cover blurb declares that the late Dr. Dooley "became a living legend to the world." Also worthy of note are Admiral Burke's strong words of praise for the young doctor in the book's foreword. Tom Dooley was a fascinating, larger-than-life character, and this flawed but fascinating memoir is, in my judgment, an important primary text of Cold War literature.