Regret to Inform You: Experiences of Families Who Lost a Family Member in Vietnam [Paperback]

Norman E. Berg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1999

The return of prisoners, called Operation Homecoming, began February 12, 1973, and ended March 9, 1973. A total of 591 men were returned to the U.S. military representatives. As many as 2500 men were still being held as POWs after this release. According to the U.S. Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office, as of 1998, there are still 2100 personnel who remain classified as MIA, remains not received, or are missing or unaccounted for. The Vietnam War was the longest conflict in American history. But the history of that conflict doesn't tell us of the heartbreak and the agony of families whose sons and daughters, husbands and brothers, remain missing long after that conflict. For many, the agony ended when their loved ones returned alive--changed by their experience, but able to resume their lives. For others, coffins with remains were returned and formal military services and funerals were held across America. These families mourned the loss of their loved ones. Their private war was over. Then there were the Missing In Action. For their parents, wives and children, the conflict had not ended. In many ways it had just begun. These are the stories of eight such families. Each have waited for closure for more than 30 years and are still waiting.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Norman Berg is the father of a MIA. He served in the U.S. Navy and retired in 1966 as Commanding Officer, Naval Training Unit, with the rank of Captain. He was National Director of Sea Scouting and the national staff of the Boy Scouts of America. He retired in 1985 after 10 years in Europe as a loaned executive to the U.S. military, supervising Boy Scout programs for children of military personnel in 21 European and Middle Eastern countries. He currently resides in New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 153 pages
• Publisher: Hellgate Press (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555715095
• ISBN-13: 978-1555715090
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,570,304 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shows deep feelings of families who lost children in Vietnam, March 2, 2000

By 

Peg Hoffman ([e-mail]) (Middletown, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Regret to Inform You: Experiences of Families Who Lost a Family Member in Vietnam (Paperback)

The conversational dialog used for writing this book appealed to me. This writing style for expressing the feelings from families who lost loved ones in the controversial Vietnam war brought many feelings that I had about the war to the surface. So often I was brought to tears as I experienced the loss that the families felt from losing a loved one, anger from the run-around the families experienced while searching for answers, and courage and faith from the love that is holding the families together. While reading this book, I shared the families' pain and felt like I knew these families. While I felt much sadness while reading the stories, I also gained courage, and faith from their families. I would recommend this book.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engages you, so you feel like you're right there, right now, January 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Regret to Inform You: Experiences of Families Who Lost a Family Member in Vietnam (Paperback)

The book shows me (a person of another era) what it was like to be notified that a loved one was MIA in a faraway, unpopular war. The dialogue is so real and the people so open that I feel as though I could reach across the table and respond to them in their own living rooms. The book is very fair and balanced in its approach to the political and governmental environments of the time.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars review, August 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Regret to Inform You: Experiences of Families Who Lost a Family Member in Vietnam (Paperback)

For anyone who lost a family member in this conflict this is a must read. For families coping with trying to get information and then closure to the loss of their child or brother this book offers hope in showing how families have dealt with and overcome obstacles in resolving and bringing closure to an emotional void in their lives.