Submitted by Susan Farhat nefretre@windstream.net

Dear Pop a Smoke,

My elder Brother is a Viet Nam War veteran. I was twelve years old when he came home, but I remember it very well. His welcome within the family was a warm and happy one. His welcome by the public was not. I feel that this was not fair to him or his comrades in arms. Unfortunately, the men and women serving in Iraq may end up facing the same greeting if things continue to become more anti-war. That is a shame and a pitiful reflection on our entire country.

For the last several years, I have been considering writing a book on the level of elementary to junior high school about the Viet Nam War. I have only seen one book to date on that level. I feel that our children need to know why this war was fought, why it became unpopular (here referring to the Make Love, Not War thing!), and what happened to the South Viet Namese people when pressure made politicians cave in and pull our troops out of the war. I have spoken with several Viet Namese people who have moved to the United States. Their stories are truly saddening.

Would it be possible for Pop a Smoke to help me gather information and true stories (suitable for the young) about how things were for the troops and the Viet Namese people they encountered? Due to the age I am looking at writing this for, I don't want it to get too gory, but I do realize that war makes for a considerable amount of gore. I think that my writing abilities are up to editing out enough gore to make it suitable for children without taking away from the story the veteran is telling.

I also plan to include stories from people who have immigrated to the United States from Viet Nam about their lives after the withdrawal of U. S. troops. I have not spoken to one yet who feels that U. S. involvement was detrimental.

This is something that I very strongly feel needs to be done. I spoke with my brother about it and he suggested that I visit your website. I do not, however, want to use anything from your site without your permission and I would greatly appreciate any additional input that your members could provide.

Thank you very much for your time, consideration, and reply.

Susan Geoghagan Farhat