).@bdp24 -Just saw your post from 7/2, responding to immathewj and nonoise. We are close in age and I can relate to your recollection of the era, in addition to having a dad who was a WW 2 vet. Up until the Tet Offensive in early '68 support for that war was 50/50. After, the cynicism festered with My Lai, Nixon's secret war, revelations that enemy body counts were manufactured. So, yes...
Anyone watched the movie, "The Quiet American"? It's from the Graham Greene novel of the same name, written in 1955, that takes place in Vietnam. The plot and the personalities and world views of two main characters, Pyle and Fowler, present a personification of the idealism and cynicism that were part of both America's and France's experience in Vietnam. Greene illustrates the conflict between naive idealism vs imperialism; colonialism vs cultural differences so well that his framework highlight why the US was in Vietnam, and left.
Oh..and on a lighter note-"High Fidelity" Nick Hornby novel, directed by Stephen Frears.