Sign-In
Cart
What War Could Not Destroy: Two Soldiers, One Diary, and Crossing from War to Peace
Paperback
Publisher: HIS Publishing Group
Published: Apr 22 2026
Pages: 274
Weight: 0.81
Height: 0.58 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Let's also not forget that the reconciliation between our countries was led by our veterans who once faced each other in battle. Because our veterans showed us the way, because warriors had the courage to pursue peace, our peoples are now closer than ever before.
-Former American President, President Obama (Hanoi, Vietnam, 2016)As I arrived in Hanoi, I was met at the car by Luong Thanh Nghi, a senior official of Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He opened the door, motioned me inside, and said quietly,
Welcome, Mr. Ambassador.
I said, I'm not an ambassador.
Oh, but you are, sir. You are our first American goodwill ambassador since the war ended.
-Hanoi, Vietnam, November 10, 1993What War Could Not Destroy is the true story of how a U.S. Army 173rd Airborne Brigade paratrooper returned to Vietnam to meet Nguyen Van Nghia, the former enemy whose diary he had captured in battle in March 1968-and how that fragile, handwritten diary became a bridge between two men once separated by war. This is not a story about forgetting the past. It is a story about facing the past-fully-and discovering what reconciliation actually requires.Paul Reed is a former U.S. Army paratrooper who served with the 173rd Airborne Brigade during the Vietnam War. In March 1968, during combat operations in Vietnam's Central Highlands, he captured a small diary belonging to a North Vietnamese soldier.Decades later, Reed returned to Vietnam to locate the diary's author, Nguyen Van Nghia, and return the diary and other personal items taken during the war. That meeting marked the beginning of a long and unlikely friendship between two former enemies. Reed's journey has been recognized internationally as an early act of reconciliation between former combatants and between nations once at war. His story has been shared through books, public speaking, and documentary films, reaching audiences around the world. He lives in the United States and continues to speak about the cost of war, the discipline of forgiveness, and the enduring possibility of peace.Also from
Reed, Paul
And Then There Were Puppets: A Collection of Puppet Scripts for the Book of Genesis
Reed, Paul
Paperback
Real Puppets, Real Issues: A Collection of Puppet Scripts, Addressing Real Issues in the American Church
Reed, Paul
Paperback
Also in
Vietnam War
The Unlikely War Hero: A Vietnam War POW's Story of Courage and Resilience in the Hanoi Hilton
Leepson, Marc
Hardcover
Kennedy's Coup: A White House Plot, a Saigon Murder, and America's Descent Into Vietnam
Cheevers, Jack
Hardcover
Until the Last Gun Is Silent: A Story of Patriotism, the Vietnam War, and the Fight to Save America's Soul
Delmont, Matthew F.
Hardcover
We Are Soldiers Still: A Journey Back to the Battlefields of Vietnam
Moore, Harold G.
Galloway, Joseph L.
Paperback
Women In War: A Gripping Collection of the Untold True Stories of History's Bravest Women Warriors
Yuzuk, David A.
Paperback
Healing Wounds: A Vietnam War Combat Nurse's 10-Year Fight to Win Women a Place of Honor in Washington, D.C.
Evans, Diane Carlson
Hardcover
Perfect Spy: The Incredible Double Life of Pham Xuan An, Time Magazine Reporter and Vietnamese Communist Agent
Berman, Larry
Paperback
Then All Hell Broke Loose: The Odyssey of a Marine Corps Photographer in Vietnam
Fisher, Dennis
Paperback
Swift Sword: The True Story of the Marines of MIKE 3/5 in Vietnam, 4 September 1967
Glass, Doyle
Paperback
Until the Last Gun Is Silent: A Story of Patriotism, the Vietnam War, and the Fight to Save America's Soul (Large Print Edition)
Delmont, Matthew F.
Hardcover
I'm Alive: A Young Fighter Pilot's Diary of the US Navy Air War in Vietnam, 1964-1965 Volume 25
Reilly, Errol F.
Hardcover
Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam
Nagl, John A.
Paperback
We Were Soldiers Once... and Young: Ia Drang - The Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam
Moore, General Ha
Galloway, Joseph
Paperback
Sailors to the End: The Deadly Fire on the USS Forrestal and the Heroes Who Fought It
Freeman, Gregory A.
Paperback
A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam (Pulitzer Prize Winner)
Sheehan, Neil
Paperback
A Better War: The Unexamined Victories and Final Tragedy of America's Last Years in Vietnam
Sorley, Lewis
Paperback
We Were Soldiers Once...and Young: Ia Drang - The Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam
Moore, General Ha
Galloway, Joseph
Paperback
Spies in Saigon: CIA Covert Operations in French Indochina and South Vietnam, 1950-1963
Bevill, James P.
Hardcover
Lions of Medina: The True Story of the Marines of Charlie 1/1 in Vietnam, 11-12 October 1967
Glass, Doyle
Paperback
Cag: The Naval Aviation Career of Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale (1949-1965) In His Own Words
Stockdale, James B.
Paperback
What Now, Lieutenant?: Leadership Forged from Events in Vietnam, Desert Storm and Beyond
Neal, Richard
Paperback
We Were Soldiers Once...and Young: Ia Drang - The Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam
Moore, General Ha
Galloway, Joseph
Hardcover
When I Die I'm Going to Heaven 'Cause I've Spent my Time in Hell: A memoir of my year as an Army Nurse in Vietnam
Kautz, Barbara
Paperback
A Brief History of Vietnam: Colonialism, War and Renewal: The Story of a Nation Transformed
Hayton, Bill
Paperback
The Vietnam War for Teens: Amazing Facts, Heroic Acts, Major Events, Public Protest, and How the War Changed the America
Burrows, James
Paperback
Last Men Out: The True Story of America's Heroic Final Hours in Vietnam
Drury, Bob
Clavin, Tom
Paperback
Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam
McMaster, H. R.
Paperback
The Legacy of the Twins Platoon: The True-Life Stories of Marines Who Went to War in Vietnam
Sauro, Christy, Jr.
Paperback
The Secret War Against Hanoi: The Untold Story of Spies, Saboteurs, and Covert Warriors in North Vietnam
Shultz, Richard H., Jr.
Paperback
Would I Do It All Over Again?: A Journey Through War, Diplomacy, and Global Affairs
Palarino, R. Nicholas
Hardcover
The End of the Rope: The Ripcord Campaign and American Disengagement in Vietnam
Smither, James R.
Hardcover
LZ Sitting Duck: The Fight for FSB Argonne
Arsenault Ltcol Usmc (Ret), John
Gourneau Uscg, Thomas
Paperback
Powerful and Brutal Weapons: Nixon, Kissinger, and the Easter Offensive
Randolph, Stephen P.
Hardcover
When Heaven and Earth Changed Places: A Vietnamese Woman's Journey from War to Peace
Hayslip, Le Ly
Wurts, Jay
Paperback
Hill 119: Defending a Reconnaissance Marines' Op, Vietnam, 1969-70
Fallon, Michael O., USMC (Ret ).
Hardcover
Drafted: An Illustrated Memoir of a Veteran's Service During the War in Vietnam
Parker, Rick
Hardcover
Steel My Soldiers' Hearts: The Hopeless to Hardcore Transformation of U.S. Army, 4th Battalion, 39th Infantry, Vietnam
Hackworth, David H.
Paperback
The Ultimate Protest: Malcolm W. Browne, Thich Quang Duc, and the News Photograph That Stunned the World
Boomhower, Ray E.
Paperback
The Legacy of the Twins Platoon: The True-Life Stories of Marines Who Went to War in Vietnam
Sauro, Christy, Jr.
Hardcover
NCO School: How the Vietnam-era NCO Candidate Course Shaped the Modern Army
Elder, Daniel K.
Paperback
If Not Now, When?: Duty and Sacrifice in America's Time of Need
Century, Douglas
Jacobs, Colonel Jack
Paperback
Fire Road: The Napalm Girl's Journey Through the Horrors of War to Faith, Forgiveness, and Peace
Thi, Kim Phuc Phan
Paperback
The Sniper: The Untold Story of the Marine Corps' Greatest Marksman of All Time
Lindsay, Jim
Paperback
War Is a Racket: A Decorated U.S. Marine General's Shocking Exposé of War Profiteering
Butler, Major General Smedley D.
Paperback
Unlikely Warriors: The Army Security Agency's Secret War in Vietnam 1961-1973d
Long, Lonnie M.
Blackburn, Gary B.
Hardcover
Of Their Own Accord: A Company of Army Rangers Changing Lives in Changing Times: A Company of Army Rangers
Kleibacker, Fred
Magruder, Lawson
Paperback
In Love and War, Revised and Updated: The Story of a Family's Ordeal and Sacrifice During the Vietnam Years
Stockdale, Sybil B.
Stockdale, James B.
Paperback
The League of Wives: The Untold Story of the Women Who Took on the U.S. Government to Bring Their Husbands Home
Lee, Heath Hardage
Paperback
Mayday 1971: A White House at War, a Revolt in the Streets, and the Untold History of America's Biggest Mass Arrest
Roberts, Lawrence
Paperback
Beyond the Call of Duty: The Life of Colonel Robert Howard, America's Most Decorated Green Beret
Moore, Stephen L.
Paperback
Tap Code: The Epic Survival Tale of a Vietnam POW and the Secret Code That Changed Everything
Berry, Sara W.
Harris, Carlyle S.
Paperback
The Ballad of Roy Benavidez: The Life and Times of America's Most Famous Hispanic War Hero
Sturkey, William
Hardcover
Bare Feet, Iron Will Stories from the Other Side of Vietnam's Battlefields
Zumwalt, James G.
Paperback
Vietnam Behind Locked Doors: Musings of an Army Lieutenant at the Pentagon 1969 - 1971
May, Richard W.
Paperback
Trauma and Truce: Personal Stories of American Veterans and Their Return to Vietnam
Woods Usmc, Ed
Paperback
100 Questions and Answers About Hmong Americans: Secret No More
Michigan State School of Journalism
Paperback
Where We Were in Vietnam: A Comprehensive Guide to the Firebases, Military Installations and Naval Vessels of the Vietnam War - 1945-75
Kelley, Michael P.
Paperback
Across the Wing: Stories of Navy Carrier Combat Squadrons in the Vietnam Theatre
Heller, Dan
Paperback
Tiger Men: A young Australian soldier among the Rhade Montagnard of Vietnam
Petersen, Barry
Paperback