With The Dragon's Children

David Garms’s With the Dragon’s Children is the first-hand account of interactions with Vietcong who responded to the South Vietnamese government’s amnesty program. The narrative, packed with information about Vietnamese attitudes, aspirations, and reactions to the war, explores their rich history and culture, and discusses the operation of the amnesty program. After valuable experience with the Peace Corps in India and on assignment with USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development), the author received intensive instruction in Vietnamese language, history and culture. Assigned to a small province (Go Cong) in the Delta as the civilian U.S. advisor to the amnesty program for the Vietcong, he worked with—and befriended—about one thousand former Vietcong. A fascinating picture of farmers, bureaucrats, soldiers and merchants emerged out of this experience. Based on extensive notes, unclassified documents, books, and interviews carried out over a three-year period in Vietnam, With the Dragon’s Children is the only book written about the U.S. supported amnesty (Chieu Hoi) program for the Vietcong.