Official Review: My "Enemy" in Vietnam" by Billy Springer
Posted: 11 May 2021, 13:09
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "My "Enemy" in Vietnam" by Billy Springer.]
Two of the most prominent issues in the United States in the 1960s were the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War. They are often regarded as separate entities, but what happened when the two intersected? One of the most famous men who did not serve in Vietnam was the heavyweight champion boxer Muhammad Ali, who refused to be drafted into the U.S. Army, stating, “I ain’t got no quarrel with them Vietcong.” Author Billy Springer arrived at the same conclusion, albeit via a different path.
In My “Enemy” in Vietnam, Springer shares his experiences as a Black GI serving as a Green Beret in Vietnam during the war. While reading this book, the word “unassuming” seemed like an apt description of both the stories and the author. Vocabulary.com contextualizes this thought perfectly: “You'll find that some of the most unassuming people are actually the most interesting and powerful of all. They're just decent enough not to display it all the time.”
The strength of this book is depicting, in an unassuming manner, how the intersection of the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War materialized for Springer. The scene on the book’s cover summarizes the story: the author described this billboard, in downtown Saigon, as the biggest sign he had ever seen. The Vietnamese would ask him and other Black men the same question: “Why are you helping the oppressor oppress us when your people are being oppressed in your country?” Springer said he had no answer to their question. He described racial taunts and retaliation at his command in Vietnam because of the civil rights protests back in the United States. He also described how the Vietnamese people affectionately called him ben-me, which means “soul brother.” I recommend reading this short novel to discover how Billy Springer stayed true to his country and his conscience during the Vietnam War.
Although the content is not light, this 56-page book has an informal layout and is easy to read. There is no table of contents, and each chapter comprises two or three pages, usually introduced by an illustration. The thirteen chapters are generally self-contained entries, such as explaining a coup d’état, describing the perils of being a point man, impressing the locals with his mastery of the Vietnamese language, and visiting a leper colony in Zee-Lin. Springer is a vivid storyteller, and his narratives are brief but powerful. They share his personal interactions with both fellow service members and the Vietnamese people, including the Montagnard, the indigenous inhabitants of Vietnam’s mountain highlands.
The illustrations give this book the feel of a graphic novel, and this aspect will make it attractive to preteens and teens. My “Enemy” in Vietnam would be an excellent entry on a reading list for middle school and high school students to supplement their U.S. History curriculum. I noticed only one instance of mild profanity, and there were no erotic scenes. The benefit of this book’s presentation in a graphic-novel format may also be to its detriment. The author has presented his factual account, and he references other service members who experienced similar treatment, but this read feels isolated in its presentation. A consideration may be to add a brief foreword or introduction by a fellow GI or two; by no means are these added voices required to validate the author’s experience, but it may aid in distinguishing his accounts from fiction, especially for younger readers.
I rate My “Enemy” in Vietnam 3 out of 4 stars. I deducted one star because there were over ten grammatical errors in the book. Furthermore, the second chapter, “The Riots,” was a subset of the previous chapter verbatim and could be removed completely with no content loss overall. The grammatical errors did not detract from my reading enjoyment, and the redundancy mentioned in the second chapter was the only occurrence of this issue. I recommend this read to anyone preteen and older who is interested in a glimpse of an American soldier’s Vietnam War experience from a perspective rarely given.
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My "Enemy" in Vietnam
View: on Bookshelves
Two of the most prominent issues in the United States in the 1960s were the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War. They are often regarded as separate entities, but what happened when the two intersected? One of the most famous men who did not serve in Vietnam was the heavyweight champion boxer Muhammad Ali, who refused to be drafted into the U.S. Army, stating, “I ain’t got no quarrel with them Vietcong.” Author Billy Springer arrived at the same conclusion, albeit via a different path.
In My “Enemy” in Vietnam, Springer shares his experiences as a Black GI serving as a Green Beret in Vietnam during the war. While reading this book, the word “unassuming” seemed like an apt description of both the stories and the author. Vocabulary.com contextualizes this thought perfectly: “You'll find that some of the most unassuming people are actually the most interesting and powerful of all. They're just decent enough not to display it all the time.”
The strength of this book is depicting, in an unassuming manner, how the intersection of the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War materialized for Springer. The scene on the book’s cover summarizes the story: the author described this billboard, in downtown Saigon, as the biggest sign he had ever seen. The Vietnamese would ask him and other Black men the same question: “Why are you helping the oppressor oppress us when your people are being oppressed in your country?” Springer said he had no answer to their question. He described racial taunts and retaliation at his command in Vietnam because of the civil rights protests back in the United States. He also described how the Vietnamese people affectionately called him ben-me, which means “soul brother.” I recommend reading this short novel to discover how Billy Springer stayed true to his country and his conscience during the Vietnam War.
Although the content is not light, this 56-page book has an informal layout and is easy to read. There is no table of contents, and each chapter comprises two or three pages, usually introduced by an illustration. The thirteen chapters are generally self-contained entries, such as explaining a coup d’état, describing the perils of being a point man, impressing the locals with his mastery of the Vietnamese language, and visiting a leper colony in Zee-Lin. Springer is a vivid storyteller, and his narratives are brief but powerful. They share his personal interactions with both fellow service members and the Vietnamese people, including the Montagnard, the indigenous inhabitants of Vietnam’s mountain highlands.
The illustrations give this book the feel of a graphic novel, and this aspect will make it attractive to preteens and teens. My “Enemy” in Vietnam would be an excellent entry on a reading list for middle school and high school students to supplement their U.S. History curriculum. I noticed only one instance of mild profanity, and there were no erotic scenes. The benefit of this book’s presentation in a graphic-novel format may also be to its detriment. The author has presented his factual account, and he references other service members who experienced similar treatment, but this read feels isolated in its presentation. A consideration may be to add a brief foreword or introduction by a fellow GI or two; by no means are these added voices required to validate the author’s experience, but it may aid in distinguishing his accounts from fiction, especially for younger readers.
I rate My “Enemy” in Vietnam 3 out of 4 stars. I deducted one star because there were over ten grammatical errors in the book. Furthermore, the second chapter, “The Riots,” was a subset of the previous chapter verbatim and could be removed completely with no content loss overall. The grammatical errors did not detract from my reading enjoyment, and the redundancy mentioned in the second chapter was the only occurrence of this issue. I recommend this read to anyone preteen and older who is interested in a glimpse of an American soldier’s Vietnam War experience from a perspective rarely given.
******
My "Enemy" in Vietnam
View: on Bookshelves