LEADER 04031nam 2200601 a 450 001 9910967988503321 005 20251117065202.0 010 $a1-60344-233-2 035 $a(CKB)2670000000079046 035 $a(OCoLC)715188943 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebrary10456022 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000530045 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11318461 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000530045 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10561833 035 $a(PQKB)11048432 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3037932 035 $a(MdBmJHUP)muse1272 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL3037932 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10456022 035 $a(BIP)30979868 035 $a(EXLCZ)992670000000079046 100 $a20100528d2011 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcn||||||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aUntil they are home $ebringing back the MIAs from Vietnam, a personal memoir /$fThomas T. Smith 205 $a1st ed. 210 $aCollege Station $cTexas A&M University Press$dc2011 215 $a1 online resource (149 p.) 225 1 $aWilliams-Ford Texas A&M University Press military history series ;$vno. 133 300 $aIncludes index. 311 08$a1-60344-232-4 327 $aTo the far shore -- Taphonomics -- La rue sans joie -- My hometown: Hanoi -- Politics -- Crossing the river Styx -- Vientiane and Phnom Penh -- Chasing Odysseus -- Christmas and Tet -- "That is sooooo Vietnam" -- O?ng, va?n pho?ng MIA-Hoa Ky? -- The last flight. 330 $a"Our mission continues . . . Until They Are Home "--Motto of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command At the end of the Vietnam War--or American War, as it is called in Hanoi--2,585 Americans were unaccounted for in Southeast Asia. In 1992, a joint task force was established to continue the work of recovery, and its members became the first U.S. government representatives to return full-time to Vietnam. Army Lt. Col. Thomas ("Ty") Smith arrived in Hanoi a decade later, in 2003. Until They Are Home is both a heartfelt memoir and a fascinating inside look at his tour of duty in Vietnam, "a place of shadows within shadows, secrets within secrets." Smith takes the reader on an extraordinary personal voyage from the shaded French boulevards of Hanoi to the remotest jungle trails of the border highlands. Written with a keen eye and touches of humor, Until They Are Home recounts life in the very heart of the mission to find and return to the families the remains of their loved ones. It offers equal parts historical context, political insight, social commentary, travelogue, and adventure chronicle. From describing everything from his diplomatic negotations between the Vietnamese and American governments to presenting his view of commanding a remarkably complex mission in an unforgiving environment, Smith draws on memory, e-mails, letters, and journal entries to recreate the story of his mission in Vietnam. Smith and the forces serving under him found the remains of fourteen lost American servicemen--including two graduates of Texas A&M University. The gripping, intensely personal narrative of Until They Are Home will fascinate general readers interested in the Vietnam War and its aftermath and will prove helpful to historians seeking primary information. It will also have great appeal to those with continuing involvement in POW/MIA issues and concerns. 410 0$aWilliams-Ford Texas A&M University military history series ;$vno. 133. 606 $aVietnam War, 1961-1975$xMissing in action$zUnited States 607 $aUnited States$xForeign relations$zVietnam 607 $aVietnam$xForeign relations$zUnited States 607 $aVietnam$xDescription and travel 615 0$aVietnam War, 1961-1975$xMissing in action 676 $a959.704/38 676 $aB 700 $aSmith$b Thomas T.$f1950-$01674797 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910967988503321 996 $aUntil they are home$94479920 997 $aUNINA