Advanced
Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for The Wages of War by Mark Crispin Miller - Available

The Wages of War

When America's Soldiers Came Home: From Valley Forge to Vietnam

#20 in series

by Mark Crispin Miller
Richard Severo
ebook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Read a sample Read a sample
1 of 1 copy available
A disturbing chronicle of the US government’s mistreatment of American soldiers and veterans throughout history, with a new introduction by Charles Sheehan-Miles
Time and time again, the sacrifices made by veterans and their families have been repaid with scorn, discrimination, lack of health services, scant financial compensation, and other indignities. This injustice dates back as far as the American Revolution, when troops came home penniless and without prospects for work, yet had to wait decades before the government paid them the wages they were owed. When soldiers returned from the Cuban campaign after the Spanish-American War, they were riddled with malaria, typhoid, yellow fever, and dysentery—but the government refused to acknowledge their illnesses, and finally dumped them in a makeshift tent city on Long Island, where they were left to starve and die.
 
Perhaps the most infamous case of disgraceful behavior toward veterans happened after the Vietnam War, when soldiers were forced to battle bureaucrats and lawyers, and suffer media slander, because they asked the government and chemical industry to help them cope with the toxic aftereffects of Agent Orange. In The Wages of War, authors Richard Severo and Lewis Milford not only uncover new information about the controversial use of this defoliant in Vietnam and the subsequent class action suit brought against its manufacturers, but also present fresh information on every war in US history. The result is exhaustive proof that—save for the treatment of soldiers in the aftermath of World War II—the government’s behavior towards American servicemen has been more like that of “a slippery insurance company than a policy rooted in the idea of justice and fair reward.”
 
 

  • Creators

  • Series

    Forbidden Bookshelf

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    March 8, 2016

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781504031516
      • File size: 994 KB

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781504031516
      • File size: 2652 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      April 1, 1989
      This disturbing study chronicles the U.S. government's shabby treatment of its soldiers and veterans throughout our history. One major exception: the generous benefits granted during the post-World War II ``orgasm of euphoria.'' Severo, author of Lisa H. , and Milford, a Vermont attorney, describe the graft and waste in various veterans' administrations, the massive bungling in the management of veterans' hospitals, the almost consistent reluctance with which the government grants assistance to needy men and women who served in time of war. The authors collect an impressive amount of fresh information, including material on the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam (`` . . . when America decided it would use chemicals to deny crops and cover to the enemy in Vietnam, and not care very much about the effects, either on civilians or on its own soldiers''), and provide an account of the recent class action brought against the manufacturers. The book offers a convincing perspective of the experience of Vietnam veterans, arguing that ``the uncaring attitude demonstrated by the government toward its former soldiers'' is nothing new. First serial to Military History Quarterly magazine.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Loading