Edited by Bernard Edelman, "Dear America" ​​is a collection of letters written by soldiers during the Vietnam War. Their letters are written to loved ones back home such as parents, siblings, and spouses, but they are a great representation of the Vietnam War. Soldiers would write these letters to keep hope alive and keep themselves sane. Throughout the book the letters are divided into those that are new to the war and those that have been there a long time. The stress and anxiety grows more and more as the letters continue and the soldiers begin to contemplate their situation. I have learned many factual things about the Vietnam War throughout my life, such as how it began and what the outcome was, but reading this book was the first time I learned what the soldiers were experiencing and the cruel reality of this war. I found some of the letters in “Dear America” very interesting and a good representation of the Vietnam War. The first of these letters was written by Robert C. Ransom of New York City. He was shipped to Vietnam in March 1968 and his letter to his parents showed me how unaware some soldiers were when they first arrived in Vietnam. In his letter Ransom shows the excitement of being sent to war and how happy he is to be able to fight. He begins to feel compassion for the enemy by stating, "For the most part no one is particularly fond of patriotic feelings." Here he explains that the Vietnamese are not bad people, they just stand up for what they believe in. Ransom also writes to his parents about the stories other soldiers have told him and tries to glorify them. At the end of his letter he brags about the military strength of the United States. His letter struck me as naive about what was happening... middle of paper... Personally, I think America was wrong to enter this war as I read "Dear America" ​​and “Give me Liberty” all the wars America fought were for freedom, except the Vietnam War. I agree with all the military decisions I read in "Give me Liberty" from the American Revolution to World War II. In my opinion America was just trying to demonstrate its military might by entering the Vietnam War. This is why I sympathize with many of the soldiers in this book. “Dear America” shows the transition soldiers experienced from first arriving in Vietnam to how they felt after being there for months. The soldiers who wrote letters at the beginning think very differently at the end of the book. Reading this book I realized that all the movies and TV shows we watch glorify war for profit, but reading the letters of all these soldiers showed me a different side.