McCoy publishes "A War Tour of Viet Nam"
Song lyrics can tell us about important moments in history, and Dr. Erin McCoy’s new
book is full of these and other cultural markers from the Viet Nam War era. McCoy
is an Associate Professor of English and Interdisciplinary Studies at USCB. Published
earlier this year, “A War Tour of Viet Nam,” is based on extensive first-hand research she conducted in areas affected by the
armed conflict.
She specializes in documenting and analyzing the cultural history of the Viet Nam war. Her latest book aims to see through the eyes of people who were present during the war and those who live there now. Part history, part travelogue, her new work reveals that —nearly 50 years after it ended— the war’s legacy is very much alive in the places where it was fought and in the memories of those who survived it.
The 206-page book looks at five decades of history and culture in North and South Viet Nam, Laos, Cambodia, Australia and the United States and includes photographs that McCoy took herself. She examines popular songs as vehicles for expressing ideas about race, patriotism, protest and defining concepts the Viet Nam War era.
“Song lyrics are a conduit or lens to look at history. Top 40 songs were the most accessible, bringing up memories for people who lived through the Viet Nam War era and transporting them to the place and time. I paired that musical view of history with what went on, and what it’s like to go back to a place 30 years later,” she states.
To research her book, Dr. McCoy traveled to significant sites including Dien Bien Phu (where French colonialism ended and U.S. intervention began), the DMZ, Hamburger Hill, the Rock Pile, the Cu Chi Tunnels, and Australia’s most famous battlefield Long Tan. She made four research trips from 2012-2019 and interviewed residents of these regions about the impact of residual hazards from the war, including unexploded ordnance (UXO). In the Quang Tri province, McCoy documented the work of non-profit groups including Project RENEW to remove these hazards and provide assistance to victims.
“Be willing to listen,” she said, “People who have experienced things first hand don’t want to know what you read in a book. It was still a sacrifice of their time—the outcome doesn’t reflect the journey they had. I can’t have a huge opinion about something that happened before I was even alive.”
McCoy said this book matters because knowing the past allows us to better deal with the future and “this is a piece of of the past that we don’t pay enough attention to. “
A War Tour of Viet Nam was published by McFarland Books, a leading independent publisher of academic and general interest nonfiction books. It is available on mcfarlandbooks.com, Amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com