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As a high school graduate in Galena, III., James Wright did not think he would ever go to college. Later he earned a Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin, and still later he became a professor of history at Dartmouth College. He wound up serving as president of Dartmouth from 1998 to his retirement as president emeritus in 2009.
The son of a World War II veteran, he joined the Marines at age 17 and served from 1957 to 1960. He began visiting military hospitals in 2005, and his 2012 book, 'Those Who Have Borne the Battle," is about American war veterans and the struggles they have faced, both in the field and at home. He made an extensive visit to Vietnam in 2014 in research for his latest book, "Enduring Vietnam: An American Generation and Its War," published in April.
Q. Did any of the people you interviewed for this book say, "Look, we're trying to forget Vietnam. Why are you dredging all this up?"
A. Some of the people I...