Deborah Nelson, award winning investigative journalist and State Press alumna, discussed her most recent book, “The War Behind Me” at The Poisoned Pen bookstore on Sunday.

Nelson, a 1997 Pulitzer Prize winner, aimed to “set the record straight for history” with this nonfiction work based on a compilation of sworn statements signed by soldiers who either committed or witnessed war crimes in the 1960s and ’70s.

These official documents kept some of the truths of the Vietnam War a secret for more than 30 years.

While conducting research for her book, Nelson unveiled shocking testimonies and confessions of witnesses, victims and suspects that detailed the horrors that occurred in the midst of the controversial war.

Research for the book began when Nelson and her investigative partner, military historian Nicholas Turse, came together to unveil some of the Army’s best-kept secrets.

Nelson got her information from a collection of army documents after they were declassified and made available to the public.

Nelson and Turse then began dissecting the reports and tracking down those involved using the names and social security numbers in the documents.

The book centers on a bloody massacre in which a U.S. Army unit slaughtered a small group of Vietnamese civilians in February 1968, but participants were never punished or prosecuted.

The Army unit opened fire on a group of 19 innocent civilians —women, babies, children and an old man — after the soldiers were given the order to “shoot anything that moves.”

At the book signing, Nelson recalled a blip in her discovery when she tried to contact the lieutenant accused of giving the orders. The man hung up on her the first time she attempted to contact him, Nelson said.

“I had the luxury of waiting a few months,” Nelson said.

When she questioned the man again, he said, “Sometimes people snap.”

The book explores many other crimes that took place during the war which Nelson says have been swept under the rug since.

During the discussion, Nelson read an excerpt form her book, in which she conducted an interview with a young Vietnamese girl who fell victim to a violent crime.

Nelson explained that the girl came home to find her entire family had been slaughtered by U.S. Army soldiers just passing through the village.

Nelson, who has been described as a “master interviewer” by the Seattle Times, said that while conducting the book’s intimate interviews, what got her through were the people who “did the right thing.”

Hundreds of soldiers attempted to come forth with the truth, Nelson said, but were written off as “liars” and “exaggerators” by the U.S. Army.

“Most of the witnesses were alive and willing to talk,” said Nelson. “Many had never seen their sworn statements, but their memory of what happened was very accurate, down to the color of the dirt.”

Pat King, the owner of The Poisoned Pen, located in Old Town Scottsdale, described “The War Behind Me” as one of the “most accessible” nonfiction books he has ever read.

During the discussion, King asked Nelson what her motives were for finding out what really happened in Vietnam.

“As a journalist,” she said, “you have to print the truth whenever it emerges, even if it takes 30 years.”

Reach the reporter at kelsey.groetken@asu.edu.