The popular music of the Vietnam era has become a soundtrack cliché in the many movies and documentaries about that conflict. But, for veterans, some of those songs bring back powerful memories and emotions. A new book explores the connections that soldiers have with those songs. The authors of that book are in town, Thursday evening to give a special presentation on war music at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. By way of preview on today's Sound of Ideas, they will share soldiers' stories of how music gave them solace, sometimes inspired them, and sometimes provided a shared cynicism, as reflected in the tune that provides the book's title: "We Gotta Get Out of This Place". We'll also hear from a combat nurse, who was stationed in a military hospital; she'll tell us about the songs that soldiers liked the most. And, we'd like to hear your memories of war as reflected through music --- from WW2 through current conflicts.

Guests:

Craig Werner, Music scholar and professor of Afro-American Studies, University of Wisconsin. Co-author We Gotta Get Out of This Place --- The Soundtrack of the Vietnam War.

Douglas Bradley, Vietnam veteran who has written extensively about his Vietnam and post-Vietnam experiences. Co-author We Gotta Get Out of This Place --- The Soundtrack of the Vietnam War.

Capt. Mary Reynolds Powell - Vietnam combat nurse and author of A World of Hurt: Between Innocence and Arrogance in Vietnam.