Shrapnel in the Heart : Letters and Remembrances from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Rating:
Summary: A book for everyone that needs perspective in their lives.
Review: A letter I wrote to Laura Palmer after years of reading her book again and again... Dear Ms. Palmer: "Shrapnel in the Heart" keeps everything in my life in perspective. Green Berets aren't supposed to cry, but we do. I cannot read your book without an onset of tears. But crying is a skill I acquired in Vietnam and your book takes me back. I quoted two short letters from your book in our employee newsletter in hopes that others would realize that things could be, and have been much worse. Many of my employees cried too. A couple of years ago I left a bloody Viet Cong flag at the wall with a note of apology. The note wasn't much, but getting to the wall was harder for me than Jump School, Ranger School and Special Forces training combined. Please, do it again. Capture the thoughts left at the wall from 1987 forward. You started this thing, now it must be continued. Your "Shrapnel in the Heart" is my psychotherapist. Write another so that some other vet can have a life saving catharsis. Thanks for soothing the pain over the years. Roy Fouts President and CEO

Rating:
Summary: Do I dare?
Review: Do I dare to give this book a less-than-glowing review? I am inclined to do so not because of the power and dignity of the people and the stories in the book--those speak for themselves. It was Palmer (the author) that bothered me. As I was reading the book, I could not help but feel that she was trying to manipulate me, tugging at heartstrings that needed no tug to be moved by these heartfelt stories. I felt a bit patronized by her. A good book (or movie, or whatever), if it moves me, should not make me feel the push; this one did, and it left me feeling the way people usually feel when they were pushed in a direction that they would have gone anyway--irritated.

Rating:
Summary: Do I dare?
Review: Do I dare to give this book a less-than-glowing review? I am inclined to do so not because of the power and dignity of the people and the stories in the book--those speak for themselves. It was Palmer (the author) that bothered me. As I was reading the book, I could not help but feel that she was trying to manipulate me, tugging at heartstrings that needed no tug to be moved by these heartfelt stories. I felt a bit patronized by her. A good book (or movie, or whatever), if it moves me, should not make me feel the push; this one did, and it left me feeling the way people usually feel when they were pushed in a direction that they would have gone anyway--irritated.

Rating:
Summary: Don't miss this one!
Review: I first read Shrapnel in the Heart shortly after its release, having bought it at the Vietnam Vets Memorial. I cannot believe that I was in college, and then newly married when all of Vietnam was going on and I was virtually untouched. I only know of one person "on the wall" and he was a college classmate, commissioned on Graduation day and killed 10 months later. Now I have two sons, graduates of the Naval Academy in Annapolis, one a Marine in Artillery and I cannot imagine war, or their never coming home. One of the dead soldier's stories always haunts me... the boy was several weeks shy of his nineteenth birthday and he hadn't even gotten his wisdom teeth yet. How sad to be his mother, sister, friend, fellow soldier. It is a sad accounting of some of America's darkest days.

Rating:
Summary: It broke my heart to think I lived it and was untouched.
Review: I first read Shrapnel in the Heart shortly after its release, having bought it at the Vietnam Vets Memorial. I cannot believe that I was in college, and then newly married when all of Vietnam was going on and I was virtually untouched. I only know of one person "on the wall" and he was a college classmate, commissioned on Graduation day and killed 10 months later. Now I have two sons, graduates of the Naval Academy in Annapolis, one a Marine in Artillery and I cannot imagine war, or their never coming home. One of the dead soldier's stories always haunts me... the boy was several weeks shy of his nineteenth birthday and he hadn't even gotten his wisdom teeth yet. How sad to be his mother, sister, friend, fellow soldier. It is a sad accounting of some of America's darkest days.

Rating:
Summary: Eye-opening book into real victims of the Vietnam War
Review: I first read this book when I went to D.C. On the bus ride back to my hotel, I opened the book up to a page devoted to a nurse nicknamed "Dusty." I found her story to be the most touching. After reading through the book, I realized just how real the War was and I got a glimpse into the agony felt by family and friends as they received the news of their child's untimely death.

Rating:
Summary: I wish all young people had to read this!
Review: I read this book for a college history course and until now have thought very little about war, military, or world politics. Young people today rarely understand or realize what goes with becoming a soldier. This book gives real images of the devastation war brings from the people who lived through the tragedy of losing their loved ones. It opens our eyes to things we just shouldn't close our eyes on.

Rating:
Summary: Once you start reading, you won't put it down.
Review: I recently bought this book while visting Arlington National Cemetary. It made me undertand more about what was going on here in the United States with families only knowing things about the Vietnam War from what they saw on television. I just could not put this book down for one second. This book even made me cry many times and made me swollow hard tears. We musn't forget those who went over there to fight a war our government tried to win. We should remember them, whether they came home or not.

Rating:
Summary: Don't miss this one!
Review: If you have any interest at all in the VietNam War you should not miss this book. It puts a face on all those whose names are inscribed on The Wall. Guaranteed to break your heart!

Rating:
Summary: Read This Book!
Review: If you lost a loved one in Vietnam then you'll understand the poingnancy, intimacy, loss, and anguish of the writers of these letters found throughout the book. It brings out the grim and stark realization that behind every name on the Wall is a story as told by the families who suffered a loss. The most important thing though is the book is about remembering those men and women who served and paid the ultimate sacrifice.