I laughed when I read Dana Mathews's column, "Stories of 'American War' put history into perspective," April 11. She criticizes the way the Vietnam War is taught in our history textbooks, then embraces the opinions of a museum worker from Vietnam. Does Mathews really believe this woman is impartial?

She also writes about, "...horrifying pictures of people who fell victim to bombing attacks, their faces diced and boiled..." Yes, terrible things happened to the Vietnamese people, but Mathews needs to realize those photos were exhibited for their shock value. In the U.S., you can find as many pictures of American veterans who lost limbs or suffered burns and gunshot wounds. I'm guessing the Museum of War Remnants didn't have much information on the torture techniques used by North Vietnamese soldiers on American prisoners of war, either.

To compare U.S. military action in Vietnam to the Nazis is ludicrous and shows a lack of knowledge. I spent a semester abroad and I agree that the U.S. military has made many mistakes, but I don't think that trading one biased opinion for another is the way to go.