Customer Reviews

Kiss the Boys Goodbye: How the United States Betrayed Its Own POWs in Vietnam (Plume)

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This is a book that should make ordinary American citizens exceedingly sad and angry. Although some may argue that its message is old news, and certainly very dated information, the horror and outrage it should occasion is neither old nor dated. For what the authors contend, and go on to impressively prove, is that our national government deliberately and maliciously betrayed its own soldiers trapped as Prisoners Of War (POWs) in Vietnam, abandoning them in favor of a quick and otherwise painless exit from the war in Southeast Asia. This, as the authors argue, is a truly devastating indictment of the Nixon administration, and one for which they cannot be forgiven.

However, it is more than that. It is also a bizarre story of men left behind for the sake of political expedience and due to a number of highly classified clandestine operations, which were purposely kept from the American people. The story line begins with the sad saga of a young ex-marine who escaped from Vietnam on the late 1970s and claimed to have seen a large number of fellow American servicemen still being held by the Vietnamese. However, he was quickly charged with desertion and collaboration with the enemy, in what seemed to be a desperate effort on the part of governmental officials to bury both him and his story of American prisoners as deeply as possible from public view. From here the plot takes a number of bizzare twists and turns.

As the authors began to investigate the young marine's story, layers of deception, half-truths, and active censorship began to emerge. What they finally uncovered was an amazing tale of official deception from the highest levels in government, and also a very well organized and relentless abuse of official governmental power. This book reveals convincing evidence of American soldiers and sailors deliberately abandoned for political expedience, and of families torn apart by these acts. It also raises quite provocative questions concerning the very nature of democracy, and the corruptibility of ordinary men given such power. Similarly, they show how the use of claims of national security were used to derail efforts to learn the truth, and of an active conspiracy to keep the public from discovering the truth.

There are many of us who have long believed that Nixon and Kissinger made a pact with the devil himself in order to to extricate the United States fro the ongoing horror of Vietnam. What is truly mind-boggling is to discover just how right we were to suspect that they, and many others in the government since that time, would take such drastic action as they have to conceal these facts and to evade the truth. This is a worthwhile book, and one that demands to be read. I hope you can approach it with an open mind. Its arguments and the evidence associated with it are, in my opinion, very convincing. Enjoy!

Kiss the Boys Goodbye is a well detailed and researched book on the continuing plight of the POW/MIA saga which has repeatedly surfaced since the end of the Vietnam war. The book is basically the continuation of Monica Jensen Stevenson's investigation which started when she worked for 60 Minutes and aired a program of POW/MIA's which was not to her satisfaction.

That is to say, the media, being 60 Minutes, edited the program and other matierial to suit what would be acceptable to the U.S government as to not cause the government any embarrassment or uncomfortable questions on the subject. Stevenson, unhappy with the final result, decided to quit working for 60 Minutes and wrote this book on her own with her husband William Stevenson.

This book will probably make the reader angry and suspicious of what just really has become of our U.S. soldiers that were "lost" in Vietnam and those who were taken as prisoners of war. There are multiple accounts in the book of government cover-up's, intimidation, media suppression of facts, outright lies to military dependants who lost loved ones in Vietman, and manipulation to coerce people from digging too deep to find true answers.

Kiss the Boys Goodbye contains many interviews and intelligence information gleaned from former POW's, former U.S. intelligence operatives, U.S. politicians, families of the missing, and others that has placed them at risk for retaliation and humiliation from the government.

This book will give startling examples of recent intelligence that proves Americans are still alive and being held against their will in Vietnam and what has actually been done to address the issue by our govenment in recent years (which hasn't been much). Beyond that, the reader will be given information why the govenment has refused to help bring missing men home. Namely, the "secret wars" that the United States fought in Cambodia and mostly Laos and how the wars there were financed by drug money and the spurious dealings of the CIA.

As a member of our military for 15 years now, I find myself sad, disturbed, shocked, and angered by the outrageous acts perpetrated by our government and their callous disregard for our own military men. Probably everyone who reads this book whether a part of the military or not, will find themselves feeling the say way. I also took it upon myself to research this subject more closely and have found many, many books related to this subject that back up Monica Jensen Stevenson's information and findings.

I would highly recommend this book to everyone who would like a truthful explanation on the fate of our POW's, what has been hidden from the public by our govenment, and the illegal use of power by our govenment and it's intelligence agencies.

This gripping expose of a major political scandal of the Vietnam War is the story of a investigation by two award-winning journalists. Kiss the Boys Goodbye shows evidence of POWs abandoned in Vietnam.

From the government obstruction and missing files to censored testimony the book reveals that the power brokers are really in control. The well-detailed book leaves virtually no stone unturned.

The book is not only a "good read," it also contains a wealth of important information that no researcher of the Pow/MIA issue can do without. The author has gone to exhaustive lengths in the detailing of this American tragedy.

Consumed by the book from the first page, I am most impressed by the way the author is able to bring out the truth. So for those looking for truly honest answers you would do well to get this book today.

When I met my husband in 1979. He had just escaped Vietnem the year before. He was one of the boat people. He told me way back in 1979 that he had seen American POW's as late as 1978 with his own eyes on more then one occasion. He was riding his scooter far out in the country side and saw a group of tall, long haired and bearded Caucasion men working the rice paddy fields under Vietnamese armed guard. When he looked a little too long and too hard the guards aimed thier rifles at him so he looked away and kept driving.

He said the caucasian mens faces were very sad.
My husband wouldn't lie to me.He still insists it true and we have told many people about it
Since then I made it a point to question every Vietnemese refugee I met. Several had told me they saw them with their own eyes as late as 1982.
I was also told that it was common knowledge in Vietnam that American POW's were still there.They were surprised that most Americans didn't know about it. They just figured maybe we didn't want them back or didn't care.
I don't know if there are any left alive now. It's been so long. But, I pray for them every night.

This tells to whole story...how could we as civilized people forget some of the bravest men Amarica has produced?? I was in the Army, 67-70 and I am totally ashamed to be an American...she tells to facts, and you can decide how it effects you.

Kiss The Boys Goodbye is superb. The book is not only a "good read," it also contains a wealth of important information that no researcher of the PoW/MIA issue can do without. In the years that have passed since its first printing (1990) some of the events described have proven to be not entirely accurate, but this is to be expected considering the efforts of our two "Hanoi John" senators and their DOD lackeys (such as reviewer w4hh@3wave.com) to kill the PoW/MIA issue through the spread of disinformation, lies, threats, and cover-ups of a magnitude never before seen in this country (with the exception of the JFK assassination). Remember, these are the people who knew all along who the "Unknown Vietnam Soldier" was (Lt. Michael J. Blassie) but lied about it for years, and have buried DOD-verified remains of MIAs who later turned up alive and well (such as MSgt Mateo Sabog). Monika Jensen-Stevenson may not be 100% accurate on all the facts, but at least she has made a considerable effort to disclose the truth behind our missing men while Joe Schlatter and other government employees have only worked at not disclosing the misdeeds of Washington politicians.

Having served in Vietnam I found the book to be very disturbing. Not so much about the war itself, but how our government and Henry Kissinger in perticular dealt with the pow/mia issue. I really thought that the TV show "60 Minutes" would have had a field day with all this information, but I guess they aren't the White Knight in shining armor either. The book was great and I will never look at two face politicans and news media people the same again

It's hard to believe such a thing could happen. The backdrop is a very complicated one and motives are difficult to understand. What's unsaid may be more important than what is said. Fact is, we left them behind. How can we do this? A freind gave me his copy to read--I'm standing in line to get my copy. reprint ASAP!!!

Kiss the Boys Goodbye is a must read book by anyone who is seriously looking for honest answers respective of the POW/MIA issue. Colonel Schlatter's review of the book as nonsense is typical of someone whose responsibility was to account for our POW/MIAs. Let me ask anyone reading this, how is it that Defense POW/MIA Office does not have authenticator codes of downed pilots? And why would they arrogantly state that it isn't their JOB to have these codes, as Schlatter has stated? If they bear the responsibility for the POW/MIA search, shouldn't they then have these codes? Kiss the Boys Goodbye will open your eyes to betrayal on the magnitude of which is mind boggeling.

This book is a must read for anyone even remotely interested in the Viet Nam War. It's difficult to come to terms with what our government did in abandoning Viet Nam POW's, but the author lays out the facts so clearly even the most strident skeptic will never be able to look at the Viet Nam POW issue without a sense of utter shame.