Corporal R. J. Del Vecchio served in the US Marines, 1^st Marine Division in Vietnam as a combat photographer.  According to the POW-MIA Freedom Radio, “After basic training, the Marine Corps decided to make use of his BS and MS in chemistry and assigned him with a Photography MOS. Many of his photographs are in the National Archives, College Park, MD. After his service in Vietnam, Del continued working in the field of chemistry and became a veteran activist using his experience and knowledge of the conflict in SE Asia.”

R. J. Del Vecchio is the author of Understanding Design of Experiments: A Primer for Technologists and A Beginner’s Guide to Rubber Technology.  He is also a co-author of Whitewash, Blackwash: Myths of the Viet Nam War.

Admiral Jeremiah Denton said of Whitewash, Blackwash: Myths of the Viet Nam War, “This little book begins to fill in, at long last, a deadly vacuum, which is the lack of truth about the facts and significances of the Vietnam War Era. That emptiness has insulted the honor of veterans, denied them recognition for their bravery and sacrifice, and made our whole society poorer for the lack of real understanding of what took place in that time, and afterwards.

The book provides, in concise and very readable form, more than enough refutation of the major myths about the Vietnam War. Beyond that, and much more importantly, it provides strong motivation for our nation to undertake correction of the myths and appreciation of the truth. We must counter the flaws in our educational system and the media that have supported the myths.

The effort is now clearly in our critical national interest. This book is a vital, immediately useable tool, and advantage must be taken of its reasonable exposures of the myths, how they came about and were nourished and spread, so that the deadly cycle will be recognized and stamped out. In this increasingly dangerous world, this nation cannot afford to see that cycle recur. The healing that recognition of the truths in this book can bring to America will help us attain the degree of national unity which is essential to our remaining a strong and effective force for good in the world.”