A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam

Neil Sheehan has used this novel to tell the story of the Vietnam conflict utilizing the perspective of one of its most respected characters. This is the story of John P. Vann who first came to Vietnam as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army and later returned as a civilian official. It is the story of his life from the beginning to the end. It is also Vietnam's story; it offers clear reasons for the conflict, and why it was such a disaster for all those involved.

Vann arrived in Vietnam on March 23, 1962 as part of the new U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam. He became a chief advisor to an ARVN infantry division. His duty was to advise his Vietnamese counter part, but he officially had no power over any ARVN troops. It was this situation that became a major point of conflict between him and those who were running the war.

During his first stay in Vietnam, Vann came to the conclusion that the U.S. could not win the war the way it was being fought. He decided to try and change the way things were. He gathered data and submitted detailed reports to those in charge of the actual conditions and state of the war. However, those above him either ignored the reports or destroyed them, because they could not believe that anyone could stand up to the might of the U.S. Reports that were sent to Washington were often dressed up to make things appear better than they were. No deliberated plan to misinform the government was ever uncovered, the generals simply believed that eventually things would go their way and they didn't want to alarm anyone. Vann learned of this practice and decided to start using the press to get his ideas out, in hopes that someone would listen and fix the problems. People listened, but high-ranking officials repeated denied his claims and informed the President that he had nothing to worry about everything was going fine.

Vann left Vietnam and retired because there was little chance of advancement for him. Almost two years after he left Vietnam he once again returned, but in a civilian role. He was to help with the pacification programs that were developed to reduce the Viet Cong's presence in South Vietnam.