“The War Within a War: The Black Struggle in Vietnam and at Home” by Wil Haygood
c.2026
Knopf
$35.00
362 pages
Uncle Sam needs you.
He has work for you, a steady job that may be the most difficult thing you’ll ever do, but you’ll gain pride in your accomplishments and decent pay for the work, plus three hots and a cot. Hey, it’s a great opportunity to gain on-the-job experience – even if, as in the new book “The War Within a War” by Wil Haygood, you once might’ve experienced racism, too.
Dan Bullock was a boy who’d always dreamed of becoming a Marine.
And so he did, and after graduating from basic training, he was sent to Vietnam to fight. Sadly, Dan was asleep one night in May of 1969, when a Vietcong soldier threw a grenade into the tent where he lay. Dan Bullock was killed instantly.
Wallace Terry knew about Bullock, and he couldn’t stop thinking about him.
Terry was one of a handful of Black journalists in Vietnam, and he’d heard bitter talk and hot anger from Black troops – talk of discrimination, of terrible assignments, of seeing greater danger than white soldiers saw. Black young men enlisted in the military because opportunities at home were scarce. Once in Vietnam, they’d become politically savvy and smart about current events, hoping things might get better in America but knowing, down deep, that nothing would.
Though the American military had been officially integrated for years, what Terry heard was that Black soldiers felt like Vietnam was a “war within a war.” Many said that race didn’t seem to matter in combat. At base camp and from their superiors, there was a problem. In the meantime, President Lyndon Johnson signed bills to help the poor, but his policies didn’t stop racism or the war itself.
By the war’s end, more than 58,000 American soldiers died in Vietnam.
One of them was Dan Bullock, who wasn’t sixteen, as he’d told the Marine recruiter. As Terry learned, Dan was 14 when he enlisted, 15 when he died, the youngest American soldier to perish in Vietnam…
It’s not on there, but “The War Within a War” should have a Trigger Warning sticker on the cover. If you’re a veteran of combat, you should know that before proceeding.
Drawing on the stories of dozens of people who went to Vietnam in various ways and for myriad reasons, author Wil Haygood offers tiny stories and a window into American warfare that often goes unknown. Here, you’ll meet the Common Man and those who were quite uncommon, brave women who played parts in history, and entertainers who raised consciousness through music. You can smell the jungle here. You’ll feel the heat and hear the sudden, terrifying silence as you read this must-read, highly relevant, heart-wrenching book.
Just beware: it’s sometimes very graphic and certain readers might want to skip it, even though it’s one of the better books you’ll find on the subject. Absolutely. If you’re unfamiliar with this part of American history or want to learn more, “The War Within a War” is a book you need.
