Entwined with Vietnam

Theodore M. Hammett served as a Marine Corps officer in Vietnam in 1968–1969. Between 2008 and 2018, he spent five years living in Vietnam and working on HIV/AIDS projects. He lives in Watertown, Massachusetts.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsxiiiForeword by W.D. EhrhartKey DatesAcronymsA Note on the Music, Vietnamese Tone Marks, and NamesIntroductionPart I: My First Tour1. Going to a War I’d Come to Think Was Wrong2. Supplying 3rd Medical Battalion3. Being Apart4. The Politics of the War5. The Vietnamese People6. Culture from Home7. LRP Rations and Warm Beer8. Seeking Danger9. Coming HomePart II: Between My Tours10. Detachment11. Returning to Vietnam for the First Time12. The ­­Cross-Border ProjectPart III: My Second Tour13. Living in Vietnam14. Birds and Animals15. Thoughts on Vietnam Since the War16. Working on HIV/AIDS Policies with Vietnamese Institutions and People17. Getting to Know Vietnamese Culture18. Bún Chả và Bia Hõi19. Crossing the Street and Breathing the Air20. A Second HomecomingPart IV: After My Second Tour21. Basic School Reunion22. Vietnam Battlefield Tour23. Last Hurrah in HanoiEpilogue: A Life of Memories, Dreams, and DoubtsAuthor’s Military HistoryChapter NotesBibliographyIndex

“Theodore Hammett’s poignant, bittersweet memoir, Entwined with Vietnam, is a story about two nations, two cultures, and one man who devoted a significant part of his life trying to understand the conflicts and commonalities that characterized the relationship between them. A gifted, truth-telling writer, Hammett explores the complexities of personal identity, family, war, tragedy, reconciliation, and redemption with consummate clarity and engaging wit. Written more than 50 years after his initial encounter with Vietnam as a young Marine, this unforgettable book joins the short list of indispensable literature on the war that changed America—and Southeast Asia—forever.”—Raymond Arsenault, historian and author of Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice and Arthur Ashe: A Life