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 an excellent depiction of the Vietnam War. Soldiers wrote these letters to help keep them hopeful and sane. Throughout the book, the letters are categorized into those who are just getting into the war and those who have been in it for a long time. Stress and anxiety increase as the letters continue and the soldiers begin to think about their situation. I've learned a lot of factual things about the Vietnam War throughout my life, like how it started and what its outcome was, but reading this book was the first time I learned what lived the soldiers and the cruel reality of this war. I found a few 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. He was sent to Vietnam in March 1968 and his letter to his parents showed me how oblivious some soldiers were when they arrived in Vietnam. In his letter, Ransom shows his excitement at being sent to war and how happy he is to be able to fight. He begins to feel compassion for the enemy, stating, “For the most part, no one is particularly crazy about patriotic feelings. » Here he explains that Vietnamese people are not bad people, they just stand up for what they believe in. Ransom also writes stories to his parents that other soldiers have told him and tries to glorify them. At the end of his letter, he praises the military power of the United States. His letter struck me with its naivety about what was happening... middle of paper ... Personally, I think America was wrong to enter this war reading "Dear America." and "Give me Liberty", all of America's wars were for freedom, except the Vietnam War. I agree with every military decision I read in “Give Me Liberty,” from the American Revolution to World War II. In my opinion, America was only trying to prove its military might by entering the Vietnam War. This is why I sympathize with many of the soldiers quoted in this book. “Dear America” shows the transition the soldiers experienced from arriving in Vietnam to how they felt after spending months there. The soldiers who wrote letters at the beginning think very differently at the end of the book. I realized while reading this book that all the movies and TV shows we watch glorify war for profit, but reading the letters from all those soldiers showed me another side..