Hard Men Humble: Vietnam Veterans Who Wouldn't Come Home [Hardcover]

Jonathan Stevenson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 16, 2002

It is finally time to come to terms with a generation of underappreciated, now middle-aged men: America's Vietnam veterans. In many ways they were no different from the men who left for Europe in 1917, or for Asia and Europe in 1942. They were young, freshly trained, scared yet determined soldiers. In "Hard Men Humble," Jonathan Stevenson introduces us to a fascinating community of expatriate Vietnam veterans -- the men who wouldn't or couldn't leave Southeast Asia, and could not leave behind the people they had fought and defended. Some were military heroes and remain unalloyed patriots. Some questioned or condemned the war and find their patriotism forever compromised by it. Some stayed behind in order to relive the best part of the war with girls, golf, and Singha beer at smoky saloons. Others were moved to atone for the war with charity -- educating Thai children, building hospitals for the Vietnamese, or providing medical care to Laotians they had befriended when soldiers. Whatever each man's motivation, the one attribute virtually all expat vets share is the desire to do what so many Americans don't want them to do: remember the Vietnam War.

"Hard Men Humble" brings a vivid cast of characters to life: Major Mark Smith, a much bemedaled winner of the Distinguished Service Cross and former prisoner of war who works out of Bangkok relentlessly searching for MIAs; Ken Richter, once a Jersey City tough, who discovered discipline and honor in Special Forces and who now donates much of his earnings to Southeast Asian charities; Robert Taylor, a former Green Beret from Alaska who formed a bond with a Lao tribe with which he worked, and who founded a medical charity for them; andGreg Kleven, an Oakland-born Force Recon marine who lost faith in the war and in his country, descended into dissoluteness and self-destructive drinking, and believes that moving to Ho Chi Minh City saved his life. The expatriate Vietnam veterans are, ultimately, just like any other cross section of Americans: some are heroes, a few are knaves, and others are just ordinary men trying to make a living. Ironically, the very dismissal of Vietnam veterans in the United States has driven some of them to build a life abroad of greater imagination, adventure, benevolence, and fulfillment than they might have found at home. Whether or not Americans doubt the wisdom of their larger historical mission, Vietnam veterans risked their lives to serve their country. We owe them our gratitude.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Some Vietnam veterans returning to the United States were so scorned by their fellow countrymen that they decided to make lives for themselves in Southeast Asia, reports Jonathan Stevenson. "There are close to a thousand expatriate veterans" in the region today, mostly in Thailand (which is "certainly pro-American"), but also in Vietnam and Laos. This collection of profiles reveals that many of them are losers and misfits, though there are a few real heroes in the bunch, such as Major Mark Smith, a former POW who won the Distinguished Service Cross and now devotes himself to tracking down MIAs. The book is mainly about the expatriates, but the best passages reveal everyday life. Stevenson describes old men in Saigon who let passers-by use their bathroom scales for a fee: "Vietnamese are generally rail-thin and do not need to diet; the commercial enticement is the prospect that a customer has gained weight, as a little extra fat prestigiously indexes prosperity." Nuggets like these fill Hard Men Humble; it is a unique entry in the literature of the Vietnam War and its legacy. --John Miller

From Publishers Weekly

Well, not exactly "veterans who wouldn't come home." London editor Stevenson (We Wrecked the Place) offers in-depth profiles of 20 expatriate American veterans of the Vietnam War who now live in Thailand and Vietnam. Most did come home, but later moved to Southeast Asia for a variety of reasons ranging from the political to the hedonistic. Many of these disparate tales are compelling, and Stevenson throws revealing light on an intriguing and little-known American subculture. He also correctly and convincingly debunks the "too often misremembered" image of Vietnam veterans as "drug-addled basket cases, shell-shocked baby killers, or treasonous `fraggers' who deserved the jeers and taunts that some received" after they came home. Despite that, it's difficult to envision how this book will help counter the negative image of Vietnam veterans. Stevenson's 20 veterans all are members of what he calls "an awkward, out-of-the-way fringe group" of less than a thousand men who have very little in common save that they have chosen to live in Southeast Asia. This nongroup includes several men on the far political left and several on the far right. They "run the gamut of retrospective Vietnam [War] thinking," as Stevenson accurately puts it. Some of the men are living comfortably in retirement; some are in Asia temporarily for work. Some have been done in by classic midlife crises; some are there for the wine, women and song. More than a few appear to be wrestling with war-related emotional problems.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (May 16, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684842645
• ISBN-13: 978-0684842646
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,239,930 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful resource for my job, September 14, 2009

By 

Natalie C. Weathers - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hard Men Humble: Vietnam Veterans Who Wouldn't Come Home (Hardcover)

I purchased this book because I work with so many Vietnam vets. Thanks for offering this wonderful resource. I have enjoyed the book.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars No Viet nam Experience Needed to be successful, January 17, 2007

By 

Colorado Vet "acordovax" (Colorado Springs, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hard Men Humble: Vietnam Veterans Who Wouldn't Come Home (Hardcover)

I will never detract from anybody who served our country during those turbulent times self included. The book is interesting as are some of the characters profiled by Stevenson. His research is extremely authentic. I was left with the feeling though that many of these "succesful" men would have been just that with or without a Vietnam as a springboard to their success. It actually left me feeling somewhat envious knowing I never had the means to do some of the same....though not necessarily in Southeast Asia.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not captivating, April 19, 2007

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C. Heinrich "Mal Hombre" (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hard Men Humble: Vietnam Veterans Who Wouldn't Come Home (Hardcover)

I am a Vietnam War history buff, but I just couldn't get into this book at all. Not because the material isn't good, it is just presented poorly.