Until the last man comes home : POWs, MIAs, and the unending Vietnam War

Select an Action

Title:

Until the last man comes home : POWs, MIAs, and the unending Vietnam War

Author:

Allen, Michael J. (Michael Joe), 1974-

ISBN:

9780807832615

Publication Information:

Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, c2009.

Physical Description:

433 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.

Contents:

Introduction: The politics of loss -- Go public : the construction of loss -- For us the war still goes on : the limits of homecoming -- As it has in the past : a short history of oblivion -- Fullest possible accounting : the persistence of the past -- The wilderness years : life after death -- Highest national priority : resurrection and retribution -- Not to close the door, but to open it : the ambiguity of recovery -- Conclusion: This thing has consumed American politics for years.

Subject Term:

Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Prisoners and prisons, North Vietnamese.

Prisoners of war -- United States.

Political activists -- United States.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Missing in action -- United States.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Influence.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Political aspects.

Geographic Term:

United States -- Relations -- Vietnam.

Vietnam -- Relations -- United States.

United States -- Politics and government -- 1945-1989.

United States -- Politics and government -- 1989-

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake)	959.70437 ALL	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Fewer Americans were captured or missing during the Vietnam War than in any previous major military conflict in U.S. history. Yet despite their small numbers, American POWs inspired an outpouring of concern that slowly eroded support for the war. Michael J. Allen reveals how wartime loss transformed U.S. politics well before, and long after, the war's official end.

Throughout the war's last years and in the decades since, Allen argues, the effort to recover lost warriors was as much a means to establish responsibility for their loss as it was a search for answers about their fate. Though millions of Americans and Vietnamese took part in that effort, POW and MIA families and activists dominated it. Insisting that the war was not over "until the last man comes home," this small, determined group turned the unprecedented accounting effort against those they blamed for their suffering. Allen demonstrates that POW/MIA activism prolonged the hostility between the United States and Vietnam even as the search for the missing became the basis for closer ties between the two countries in the 1990s. Equally important, he explains, POW/MIA families' disdain for the antiwar left and contempt for federal authority fueled the conservative ascendancy after 1968. Mixing political, cultural, and diplomatic history, Until the Last Man Comes Home presents the full and lasting impact of the Vietnam War in ways that are both familiar and surprising.

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Allen, an assistant professor of history at Northwestern, presents a perceptive analysis of the history of the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue: paradoxically, the most extensive study ever attempted, despite the startling fact that the number of those missing in action is comparatively small (about 1,800, compared with 8,000 in Korea). In an ambitious book, Allen meticulously traces the history of the movement to account for the missing, concentrating on the group that became the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia. He captures the sense of bitterness and betrayal that motivated the families and shows how the league morphed from a wives-led lobbying effort into a political phenomenon that has had a significant impact on the body politic through six presidential administrations, from Nixon to George W. Bush. Allen also makes a convincing case that the MIA issue was an important factor in the political rise of Ronald Reagan, which "marked the start of nearly three decades of Republican rule." Allen lapses into needless academic jargon on occasion, but otherwise writes clearly and cogently in this valuable look at what he accurately calls a "strange" story. 28 illus. (Sept. 18) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Choice Review

Because the US lost the Vietnam War, US POWs became its only heroes. All the missing (MIAs) had to be accounted for; the living had to be returned regardless of time, cost, or improbability that any MIAs had survived a secret captivity in Southeast Asia. This complex book addresses these controversial issues as it develops a critical history of the National League of Families of POWs and MIAs. Evolving from initial concern for live prisoners during the war to proponents of a new conspiracy theory after it, the league seized enormous power, especially during the Reagan administration. It consistently asserted that live prisoners were kept in Southeast Asia, supported bizarre paramilitarism for their recovery, and insisted that the US government had lied to Americans by only excavating remains. Allen (Northwestern Univ.) shows how and why presidents, legislators, and generals accommodated the league's politics in a succession of administrations until the McCain-Kerry commission brought its outrageous beliefs and actions to light in 1991. Normalization of relations with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1995 defeated the league's populist political agenda, but the author insists that the shadow of the Vietnam War will remain with us forever. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. R. C. Doyle Franciscan University of Steubenville

Library Journal Review

While there is no shortage of works on the Vietnam War, Allen (history, Northwestern Univ.) has managed to make a valuable, even unique, contribution to the field. Allen does a skillful job of explaining that even though there were fewer Americans captured or missing in the Vietnam War than in any other major American conflict, the response to the status of POWs and MIAs from Vietnam was so strong and so persistent it actually prolonged hostility between the United States and Vietnam and continued to affect American politics for decades after the war. Further, the effort was consumed by a small group made up of activists and the families of the missing or captured. Allen does an excellent job of describing the politics behind the efforts to recover the POWs and MIAs. VERDICT The book is skillfully written, very well researched, and wonderfully documented and presents a fair and balanced view of the issues presented. This is a scholarly work and would be an excellent supplementary text for college and university courses, and is appropriate for all who seek to understand the Vietnam War in a fuller context.-Lisa Ennis, Univ. of Alabama, Birmingham (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Abbreviations	p. xi
Introduction The Politics of Loss	p. 1
1 Go Public The Construction of Loss	p. 13
2 For us the War still goes on the Limits of Homecoming	p. 63
3 As it has in the Past A Short History of Oblivion	p. 101
4 Fullest Possible Accounting The Persistence of the Past	p. 137
5 The Wilderness Years Life after Death	p. 179
6 Highest National Priority Resurrection and Retribution	p. 215
7 Not to Close the Door, But to Open it the Ambiguity of Recovery	p. 250
Conclusion This Thing Has Consumed American Politics for Years	p. 291
Notes	p. 307
Bibliography	p. 393
Acknowledgments	p. 411
Index	p. 413

Available:*

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Summary

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Choice Review

Library Journal Review

Table of Contents

Helpful Links

Research Links

Contact

Events and Rooms

Follow Us

Today's Hours