I Volunteered: Canadian Vietnam Vets Remember

by Tracey Arial

Everyone knows that Canada sheltered over 30,000 Americans escaping the draft, but not many are aware that for every draft dodger, a Canadian illegally volunteered to fight for the U.S. armed forces in Vietnam. Canadians turned a blind eye to them. Both the Canadian government and the average Canadian chose not to admit that we had any part in America's dirty war. The Canadian volunteers were the invisible army. Those who returned were shunned...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1896239145
• ISBN13: 9781896239149
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Watson and Dwyer
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Compelling Story about Canada's Dirty Secret

This compelling book brings to light the stories and struggles of some of the 50,000 young Canadians who were recruited to fight in the Vietnam War. The U.S. deliberately recruited them, setting up offices in Plattsburgh and Bellingham near the Canadian border. But the Canadian government doesn't recognize these men as soldiers and hasn't provided any of the support services they should've been getting to cope with what they experienced. Consequently, many have suffered in silence. For some, the pain was too great. Despite the subject matter, this book is hard to put down. It reads like a long magazine article rather than a book. It also changed the way I perceive the men who fought in the Vietnam War. It seems that many bought into the U.S. and Hollywood propaganda about wars and being a soldier. When you're 18 years old, that can be pretty powerful.