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A Bright Lie Shining: 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 ....

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.... 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 g ....