Until the Last Gun Is Silent

Book — Non-fiction. By Matthew F. Delmont. 2026. 368 pages.
The history of the Vietnam War with a focus on the African American experience in the antiwar movement and as returning soldiers.

In Until the Last Gun Is Silent: How a Civil Rights Icon and Vietnam War Hero Changed America, historian Matthew Delmont tells the story of the Vietnam War through the lives of Coretta Scott King and Dwight “Skip” Johnson

Coretta Scott King, who bravely championed the antiwar cause — and eventually persuaded her husband to do the same — and Dwight “Skip” Johnson, a Medal of Honor recipient whose life ended tragically after returning from battle to his native Detroit.

He includes the history of schooling in Detroit, SNCC, Winter Soldier events, the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the Fort Hood Three, the massacres at Jackson State and Kent State, racism in the military, the Tet Offensive, Rep. Conyers, PTSD, and much more.

ISBN: 9780593655870 | Viking

Matthew Delmont arranged for the generous donation of more than 500 copies of Until the Last Gun Is Silent to middle and high school classrooms. We are hearing back from those teachers — including the ones below in New York, North Dakota, North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, and more cities. Many echo the feedback of Montgomery County Public Schools high school teacher Amber Myren who wrote, “As a result of reading Until the Last Gun Is Silent, I am giving Coretta Scott King more emphasis in my Civil Rights Unit this year.”