Hearts, Minds, and Coffee: A Vietnam Peace Odyssey, Hinckley Kent

A novel about enemies working together in Vietnam, 1969. Dances with Wolves meets Platoon.

Three Army enlisted men, led by an anti-war second lieutenant, were ordered on a dangerous patrol in Vietcong infested territory to support a nearby American regiment. Senior officers expected them to die as happened to the previous patrol. In order to save their lives, the lieutenant sought a truce with an enemy village.

Ignoring Army regulations, the four misfits worked to establish trust by helping the village obtain and plant coffee. Months later, a surprise attack by a North Vietnam Army Division against the American Regiment upset the fragile peace. Thrust into the middle of assaults against Americans and counterattacks which put the village at risk, the four heroes crafted a ruse to save those on both sides. The plan collapsed when the commanders chopper was shot down further magnifying the danger as the four scurried to save the crew.

Possessing few weapons and a battered radio with death lurking all around, the four soldiers improvised on the ground. Being hugely outmanned, they realized their lives depended on the friendships they had cultivated with the village farmers and its chief who was a colonel in the Vietcong.

This book should be read by all veterans, families and friends of veterans, teenagers to get a historical perspective about the war, baby boomers to appreciate fellow members of their generation, those who went to the Vietnam Wall or havent gone yet, military and government leaders, Oprah, and anyone who works for peace.

Selected Book Reviews:

As a wife and sister of two wonderful but affected Vietnam veterans, I applaud the writer for bringing the story to a new generation. Glad that someone was able to capture the mixture of emotions this event involved. DF

I was interested in this book because my uncle was drafted and sent to Vietnam to fight a war he didnt believe in. ... Maybe someday I will have the courage to talk with my uncle about the subject...until then, I feel that I have a better understanding of what the Vietnam vets went through. JS