Hell, No, We Didn't Go! - by Eli Greenbaum (Paperback)

About the Book

"In Saying No to the Vietnam War, Eli Greenbaum presents personal accounts from individuals who were driven to resist or dodge the Vietnam War draft. These vivid and candid oral histories detail encounters with the Selective Service System, events that were often controversial, sometimes volatile, and almost always emotionally charged. The narrative of the author's own experience blended with the interviewees' stories brings together a chorus of protest while providing context, commentary, and a unique fifty-year perspective. Saying No will not only resonate with those who lived through this divisive and volatile era but will help subsequent generations understand how and why there was such strong antiwar sentiment during the Vietnam War era"--

Book Synopsis

As long as there have been wars, there has been conscription. And conscription has never been popular.

When asked in a Gallup poll taken in August 1965 whether the US decision to send troops to Vietnam was a mistake, sixty percent of Americans polled said no. But as American casualties increased and the war escalated, polls showed fewer Americans supporting US actions in Vietnam. That, however, did not stop the drafting of Americans into military service. Later, when the leaked Pentagon Papers revealed that the United States had misled Congress and the American public about the extent of US involvement in Vietnam through lies and the withholding of information, support was driven further downward. Today, the Vietnam War is regarded as the most unpopular war of the twentieth century.

In Hell, No, We Didn't Go! Eli Greenbaum presents firsthand accounts of men who were driven to resist or dodge the Vietnam draft at all costs. He introduces readers to a cross section of individuals who found ways to defy the draft by leaving the country, going to prison, becoming conscientious objectors, gaming the system, conspiring to fail physicals, and even enlisting--anything to avoid being drafted. These vivid essays and candid oral histories detail events that were often controversial, sometimes volatile, and almost always emotionally charged. Greenbaum brings together a chorus of first-person accounts of draft resistance and protest, held together by an overarching personal narrative, while providing context, commentary, and an unusual fifty-year perspective on the men's decisions to avoid the Vietnam War no matter what.

While some men passively accepted conscription as their fate, others actively resisted it, sometimes going to extremes. Each account reveals individual motivations, fears, and hopes--everything from disagreement with American foreign policy to questions of cowardice and the meaning of patriotism, all underlined by courage and determination.

Review Quotes

"A worthy contribution to the literature of the Vietnam War."--Kirkus Reviews

"The author, Eli Greenbaum, interviewed may people for the book, and the well-chosen, sometimes lengthy, excerpts from these interviews give the book a compelling immediacy. The first-person accounts quoted here convey unmistakable authenticity and sincerity."--Peace & Change

"Through the use of incisive and interesting first-person interviews, Greenbaum reveals the wide variety of interactions with the draft and the myriad forms of evasion and refusal."--Fifth Estate

"In this book, Eli Greenbaum captures the story of the past, which most males of our generation would like to forget. But thankfully, this important book keeps the story alive, one that documents the perseverance and patriotism of those civilians who--whether they realized it or not at the time---stood up to the system and screamed Hell No!"--Vietnam Veterans against the War

"The book is well written, detailed and provides a frequently penetrating insight into the often very different motives of the refusers. Their views also reveal a lot about the political, cultural and military situation at the time of the Vietnam War."--Militaire Spectator

"Eli Greenbaum has written one of the best studies of those who fought, often successfully, their being drafted to fight in Vietnam. Based on long and colorful interviews with many resisters, his volume enriches our understanding of what drove unprecedented numbers of young men to challenge the Selective Service System."--Melvin Small, author of At the Water's Edge: American Politics and the Vietnam War

"The Vietnam War was fought on many fronts, and we often forget that the home front was crucial here--marked by an army of courageous and patriotic men and women who often, at considerable risk to themselves, resisted this terrible war. Eli Greenbaum has brilliantly orchestrated the voices of resistance from that era. This is a major statement and a valuable piece of American history."--Jay Parini, author of Borges and Me: An Encounter

"From the superb opening ('Draft dodging runs in my family') to his effective closing chapter, Eli Greenbaum has crafted an exceptional study that adds considerably to what we know about opposition to the military draft during the Vietnam War. Of the many oral histories about the conflict, Greenbaum's is the first I have read that combines the two genres of memoir and oral history. That Greenbaum has made this approach work is a tribute to his skills as a writer and storyteller. A thoroughly good read!"--Thomas M. Grace, author of Kent State: Death and Dissent in the Long Sixties

"Eli Greenbaum sets the record straight on the thousands of young Americans who, as true patriots, acted with courage and principle in refusing to serve in an unjust war. As a child of the '60s, draft resisters were heroes of mine. Greenbaum serves them well, and he should, considering he was one of them. I hope this book is read and revered by young people of every generation, looking for the same fortitude to do what is right, even if it means being ostracized from their families, their communities, and even their countries. This is history at its best, for which Greenbaum deserves both our gratitude and a salute."--Jeff Kisseloff, author of Generation on Fire: Voices of Protest from the 1960s, an Oral History