Memoir is a genre that inherently plays with the idea of truth. To what extent is it necessary for a writer of a war memoir to remain faithful to the events as they occurred? How does Wolff depart from truth, and does this affect his reliability?

In what ways does Wolff address the legacy of colonialism and the reality of imperialism as it relates to the Vietnam War? What does he say about these larger forces, and how do they appear in the memoir?

In Chapter 1, Wolff writes of witnessing and undermining of the national myth. What is this myth, and in what way(s) is it undermined, both in Dong Tam and throughout the book?