Army veteran Dr. Victor Eugene Flango usually writes about court reform. He has authored more than 100 publications and articles (and even a web video) on the topic. His 2024 book, “Who Brings an Accordion to Vietnam?: A Lighthearted Look at the War,” is a standout, not only because it’s not about court reform, but it’s also not a combat memoir, because Flango didn’t serve in a combat role.
Instead Flango takes readers to a new area of Vietnam history: life in the rear.
Life in the Rear
The author describes himself as a “kid who took his accordion to Vietnam as a way of connecting to the Vietnamese people.” Because he took a detour after college to study comparative politics and visit several Asian countries, he had a greater understanding of the Vietnamese people. His job was cataloging the incidents that took place involving American, Vietnamese, and South Korean troops, which adds to his unique perspective of the war.
As a result, his memoir is a series of self-described “vignettes,” short stories about life in the rear, getting buzzed by helicopters at the beach, playing his accordion in bars, teaching at the University of Maryland Nha Trang, and trying to protect himself from rocket fire while at the II Corps headquarters. It comes from an officer who had visited Vietnam in a non-military role and studied the country and its people before deploying to a war there.
Accordion to Vietnam
“The book may be of interest not only to veterans of the Vietnam war, but to families (including spouses and children of veterans) who would like to obtain a flavor the war fought by military not directly in daily combat; by combat veterans who already know that some military assignments were much better than theirs; historians and other researchers who rarely get a flavor of war from a non-combatant perspective, and a general audience interested in the humor and temper of the times,” the author said.
Vietnam veterans, including those who saw combat, describe Flango’s book in glowing terms. Most agree that it paints an accurate description of life in the rear. Others remark that it evokes poignant memories, preserving a personal history that few will ever truly understand.
Flango deployed to Vietnam with his accordion because he wanted to use it as an ice breaker, and he succeeded. Little did he know that his accordion would continue to bring people together, though it now connects Americans to the past.
“Who Brings an Accordion to Vietnam?: A Lighthearted Look at the War,” is available on Amazon Kindle eReader for $4.99.
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