They Were Soldiers showcases the inspiring true stories of 49 Vietnam veterans who returned home from the "lost war" to enrich America's present and future. In this groundbreaking new book, Joseph L. Galloway, distinguished war correspondent and New York Times bestselling author of We Were Soldiers Once . . . and Young, and Marvin J. Wolf, Vietnam veteran and award-winning author, reveal the private lives of those who returned from Vietnam to make astonishing contributions in science, medicine, business, and other arenas, and change America for the better. For decades, the soldiers who served in Vietnam were shunned by the American public and ignored by their government. Many were vilified or had their struggles to reintegrate into society magnified by distorted depictions of veterans as dangerous or demented. Even today, Vietnam veterans have not received their due. Until now. These profiles are touching and courageous, and often startling. They include veterans both known and unknown, including: Frederick Wallace (“Fred”) Smith, CEO and founder of FedEx Marshall Carter, chairman of the New York Stock Exchange Justice Eileen Moore, appellate judge who also serves as a mentor in California's Combat Veterans Court Richard Armitage, former deputy secretary of state under Colin Powell Guion “Guy” Bluford Jr., first African American in space Engrossing, moving, and eye-opening, They Were Soldiers is a magnificent tribute that gives long overdue honor and recognition to the soldiers of this "forgotten generation."

本書は、ベトナム戦争という負の烙印を背負わされた兵士たちが、帰国後の冷淡な社会でいかに自己を再定義し、未来を切り拓いたかを魂の筆致で描いた傑作です。ギャロウェイらが紡ぐ言葉は、戦場での勇猛さ以上に、絶望から這い上がり各界のリーダーへと昇り詰めた彼らの内なる強靭さを鮮烈に描き出します。 偏見にさらされた「忘れ去られた世代」の名誉を奪還せんとする著者の情熱は、単なる成功譚を超えた文学的深みを湛えています。英雄たちの葛藤と献身を緻密な取材で浮き彫りにした本作は、人間の再起の可能性を信じるすべての人に捧げられた、希望の連作肖像画といえるでしょう。