They Marched into Sunlight
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 Second edition title page |
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| Author | David Maraniss |
|---|---|
| Country | United States of America |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Vietnam, War, Historical Nonfiction |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
| Released | September 28, 2004 |
| Media type | Hardcover and Trade Paperback |
| Pages | 572 |
| ISBN | 0743261046 |
They Marched into Sunlight is written by Pulitzer Prize winner and bestselling author David Maraniss and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for History in 2004.[1] It is also being made into a feature film by Universal Pictures, set for release in 2008, but the date of release is subject to change.[2]
The book centers around the Battle of Ong Thanh and a protest at the University of Wisconsin.
Contents |
[edit] A Brief Preface
"This book is shaped around two events that occurred simultaneously during two days in the sixties - October 17 and 18, 1967. The first was an ambush in Vietnam that occurred when the Black Lions, a renowned battalion of the First Infantry Division, marched into the jungle on a search-and-destroy mission forty-four miles northwest of Saigon. The second was a demonstration at the University of Wisconsin where antiwar protestors staged a sit-in aimed at preventing the Dow Chemical Company, manufacturers of napalm, from recruiting on the Madison campus. The title is taken from the first line of "Elegy" by Bruce Weigl, a poem about U.S. infantrymen in Vietnam marching into sunlight on their way to a deadly ambush. But the image applies to all the people of this book who were caught up in the battles of war and peace during that turbulent era. Soldiers in Southeast Asia, student protesters in the United States, President Johnson and his advisers at the White House - they lived in markedly different worlds that were nonetheless dominated by the same overriding issue, and they all, in their own ways, seemed to be marching toward ambushes in those bright autumn days of 1967."[3]
[edit] Publisher's Summary
Here is the epic story of Vietnam and the sixties told through the events of a few gripping, passionate days of war and peace in October 1967. They Marched into Sunlight brings that tumultuous time back to life while exploring questions about the meaning of dissent and the official manipulation of truth, issues as relevant today as they were decades ago.
In a seamless narrative, Maraniss weaves together the stories of three very different worlds: the death and heroism of soldiers in Vietnam, the anger and anxiety of antiwar students back home, and the confusion and obfuscating behavior of officials in Washington. To understand what happens to the people in these interconnected stories is to understand America's anguish. Based on thousands of primary documents and 180 on-the-record interviews, the book describes the battles that evoked cultural and political conflicts that still reverberate.
[edit] Individuals Mentioned
- Terry de la Mesa Allen, Jr., commander of 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, U.S. 1st Infantry Division, son of Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen; killed in action in Vietnam October 17, 1967
- Lt. Clark Welch
- Donald Holleder
- Vo Minh Triet
[edit] Editions
- ISBN 0743217802; September 23, 2003, Simon & Schuster, 592 pages (Hardcover)
- ISBN 0743261046; September 28, 2004, Simon & Schuster, 572 pages (Trade Paperback)
