Working-Class War: American Combat Soldiers and Vietnam

by Christian G. Appy

No one can understand the complete tragedy of the American experience in Vietnam without reading this book. Nothing so underscores the ambivalence and confusion of the American commitment as does the composition of our fighting forces. The rich and the powerful may have supported the war initially, but they contributed little of themselves. That responsibility fell to the poor and the working class of America.--Senator George McGovern

"Reminds us of the disturbing truth that some 80 percent of the 2.5 million enlisted men who served in Vietnam--out of 27 million men who reached draft age during the war--came from working-class and impoverished backgrounds. . . . Deals especially well with the apparent paradox that the working-class soldiers' families back home mainly opposed the antiwar movement, and for that matter so with few exceptions did the soldiers themselves.-- New York Times Book Review

"[Appy's] treatment of the subject makes it clear to his readers--almost as clear as it became for the soldiers in Vietnam--that class remains the tragic dividing wall between Americans.-- Boston Globe

Genres: History, American History, Nonfiction, War, Military History, Sociology, 20th Century

378 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars for the first half, three for the second half. This is an ambitious book. Appy begins by offering a class analysis of the US military during the Vietnam War, based on oral histories with Massachusetts veterans conducted in the 1980s and early '90s. The first few chapters are exceptionally good, especially when Appy is breaking down how the class background of soldiers affected their experiences before entering the military and during basic training. As others have commented, the one big shortcoming of this part of the book is an over-reliance on novels written by veterans; I don't think Appy does enough to treat fictional accounts with the same analytical rigor he brings to his discussion of oral histories. Still, the opening chapters are strong.

He loses me a bit in the second half. Class analysis disappears and the book becomes a survey of how US soldiers in general experienced different aspects of the war (combat, justifications for war, homecoming, etc.). Even in 1993, I don't think it was groundbreaking to point out that the experience of the Vietnam War disillusioned US soldiers. These chapters are full of generalizations and lack the sharp, fresh bite of the first half of the book.

Still, it's well worth reading. I read it alongside Penny Lewis's "Hardhats, Hippies, and Hawks," which offers a similar class analysis of the antiwar movement, and think they're great companion pieces.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although Christian G. Appy originally intended for this masterful work to serve as his senior thesis, the last decade has cast a reverent limelight on this formidable study and deeply empathetic consideration of the complex lives of working-class Vietnam war veterans.

The Vietnam War has been the subject of intense scrutiny since its lamentable incidence: historians have squabbled about its probable causes, the logistics, the diplomatic blunders that prolonged its duration, the manner in which the leaders of the countries involved boosted support for or inadvertently heightened the tension surrounding the war.

Countless interpretations of 'Nam pervade the scholarly annals, but Appy's profoundly humane analysis of the lives that were conscripted to engage in this bloody dilemma surpasses all expectations, minimizing the importance of foreign diplomacy to focus on the hopes and aspirations and psychological vagaries of the American soldiers unmercifully drafted to that unpredictable realm.

With a copious number of reliable statistical data, a keen appreciation of primary sources (in the form of self-conducted interviews with Vietnam veterans), and an erudite grasp of writerly tactics, Appy instills a melancholic appreciation in his readers for the highly relatable lives and sacrifices of the soldiers at the front lines of this regrettable war.

[Colleen Coyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh-so-relevant to the current disastrous state of the world and the US military in particular...

[Jim Gulley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating account of the Vietnam War told from the point of view of the regular soldier. Appy argues that due to the selective service rules and ways and means for affluent Americans to gain draft deferments, the Vietnam War was the first war in American history almost completely fought by the middle-class.

[Jack Bharucha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not sure if I agree with all of Appy's points. However, it cannot be denied that he makes them well and backs them up with evidence. This is a book both analytical and yet overflowing with human emotion. A book whose subject matter remains relevant.

[Matthew Finlayson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly researched and well written.

[David Bates · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Working Class War, published in 1993, Christian Appy spins out the class implications that followed from military policies which disproportionately funneled young blue collar men into the military to fight the Vietnam War. “America’s most unpopular war was fought primarily by the nineteen-year-old children of waitresses, factory workers, truck drivers, secretaries, firefighters, carpenters, custodians, police officers, salespeople, clerks, mechanics, miners and farmworkers” Appy tells us, “people whose work lives are not only physically demanding but in many cases physically dangerous.” Drawing parallels between military service and working class occupations in the 1960s and ‘70s , Appy notes the similarities. “Combat may be more harrowing and dangerous than even the toughest civilian jobs, but in class terms there were important commonalities between the two. In both cases soldiers and workers did the nation’s ‘dirty work’ – one group abroad and the other at home – and did it under strict orders with little compensation.” Structuring his narrative around the process of a year-long deployment, Appy traces how class shaped the experience of hundreds of thousands of young soldiers from boot camp, through a military structure that in information, tactics and management treated them as cheap, interchangeable, mindless labor. Upon the soldiers’ returning home, Appy’s use of the war as a metaphor for America’s larger class issues becomes significant to the decline of the New Deal coalition. While many of the veterans had come to the conclusion that the war was not worthwhile, the anti-War movement’s support among college students from white collar families was profoundly alienating. The returning veteran was often embittered by “the students, not so much because they opposed the war, but because he believed they opposed him, that they were attacking his morality without sharing his sacrifices or understanding his experience.”

While Appy has undoubtedly seized on an important aspect of the Vietnam War, his evidence and presentation are in many ways doubtful. Rightly criticizing the statistics driven focus of war planners as substituting substantive understanding for “the illusion of progress and control,” Appy himself cites vague statistics about industrial accidents and work related sickness to draw together the experience of soldiers and workers. Despite having an evidentiary base of interviews with more than a hundred veterans, his examples within the text are often from literary memoirs and fictional short stories authored by veterans – needless to say publications for a mass market, through publisher selection and authorial intent, say as much about what the reading public is interested in consuming as what the author experienced. Additionally, more than three fourths of the interviews Appy conducted were drawn from Massachusetts veterans whom he met through support groups sponsored by the Veteran’s Administration, suggesting a bias in terms of regional and racial background, as well as the intensity of hardship, experienced by his interviewees.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tremendous Book. Looks at who was sent to Vietnam (working class kids) and why many middle class kids were able to avoid it. Also looks at why most of the working class kids accepted their fate, at least initially.

Then it looks at how infantry soldiers experienced the war and why so many veterans are conflicted about their experiences.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Appy attempts to reconcile the thoughts and feelings of and for Vietnam veterans and tries to find their place in history. He, arguably, takes a Marxian approach to his thesis by focusing on the oppressed in America (our working-class) and how they were unable to fight a war to oppress others with our ideology.

[AskHistorians]

Flawed, incomplete and with a "limited" amount of sources (considering the topic), still one of the best books on the ordinary combat soldier during the Vietnam War. From training to the field, taking in psychological as well as physical factors - this book is the best thing we got right now for an understanding on what the American combat soldier had to endure during the Vietnam War.

[Dr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vietnam. Historically accurate and clear.

[Charles Bivona · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you aren't antiwar, read this book. Then you will be.

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. The working-class nature of the war is shown here.