User:Moneytrees/draft/Bloods

Bloods: An Oral History of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans is a 1984 book by Wallace Terry. An oral history anthology consisting of 20 interviews conducted with African American veterans of the Vietnam War, Terry spent 17 years trying to get the book published. Upon publication by Random House in 1984, Bloods received wide acclaim, was listed as a New York Times Notable Book and nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

Terry embarked on a promotional tour from the publication of the book to 1990. Bloods was a source of inspiration for the 1995 film Dead Presidents and the 2020 film Da 5 Bloods. The book has been included in educational curriculums on the Vietnam War.

Background
In 1967, Terry left for Vietnam, where he became the magazine's deputy bureau chief in Saigon and the first black war correspondent on permanent duty. During his two-year tour, he covered the Tet Offensive, flew scores of combat missions with American and South Vietnamese pilots, and joined assault troops in the Ashau Valley and on Hamburger Hill. He helped retrieve the bodies of four newsmen killed by the Viet Cong on May 5, 1968, during the Mini-Tet Offensive in Saigon.

Reception
The book received positive coverage and reviews in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe. Writing for Nieman Reports,

Terry's editing and presentation of the interviews has faced criticism. In a September 2000 article in The Journal of American History on Vietnam oral histories, historian Patrick Hagopian noted, "Wallace Terry cut and pasted his transcribed interviews to produce well formed narratives in keeping with techniques he had learned in a short-story writing class. He knew each story was complete when reading it made his wife cry. Although there may be nothing wrong in principle with editing oral histories so extensively, the introductions of the collections do not disclose that the interviews have been edited."

Legacy and adaptations
Bloods been used in educational curriculums involving the Vietnam War. Harold “Light Bulb” Bryant is alleged to have falsified his account. The 1998 book Stolen Valor by Vietnam veteran B.G. Burkett and investigative journalist Glenna Whitley claims Bryant was a trashman during his time in Vietnam, while Hagopian believed Bryant's account of surviving a land mine was an urban legend.

Terry looked forward to a major film adaptation of his work and got into contact with producer Quincy Jones, but nothing materialized. Terry and Merretazon were approached by the Hughes brothers director duo for the rights to an adaptation of Merretazon's interview. The resulting 1995 crime thriller Dead Presidents, about a black Vietnam veteran robbing bank truck, was loosely based on Merretazon's life and other events. Film director Spike Lee drew inspiration from the book for his 2020 Vietnam war drama Da 5 Bloods, which focuses on a black squad of the 1st Infantry Division. Actors were assigned to read the book. The film contains a scene similar to Bryant's account of using a rope to survive a land mine blast.