They went to war as enemies.
Decades later, a diary brought them face to face.
The true story of Paul Reed and Nguyen Van Nghia—and a journey from war through forgiveness to friendship and reconciliation.
A true story of two men who went to war as enemies—and discovered one another’s humanity through a diary neither could have imagined would someday connect their lives.
It Began With a Diary
In early 1968, during a reconnaissance operation in Kontum Province of South Vietnam, American paratrooper Paul Reed came into possession of a small diary taken from the backpack of a North Vietnamese soldier. He did not yet know the man’s name.
Reed shipped the diary home from Vietnam in a shipping box he’d made from an empty C-ration box. For years, it remained stored away—its words unread and its owner unknown.
Decades later, the translation of that little diary would change the way Reed understood the man he had once known only as the enemy—and begin a journey neither man could have imagined.
The Enemy Had a Name
When the diary was finally translated, Paul Reed discovered something he had never expected. The soldier he had known only as “the enemy” had thoughts, dreams, and a story of his own.
And he had a name: Nguyen Van Nghia.
The Diary Was Only the Beginning
What began with a small diary recovered during war would eventually lead across decades, across nations, and back to the man who had written its pages.