Read this excerpt from "Not a Dove, But No Longer a Hawk."
When I first walked across the tarmac of Saigon's Tansonnhut Airport on a warm evening in April, 1962, nervous that
the customs officers might not accept the journalist's visa l had hurriedly obtained from the South Vietnamese
consulate in Hong Kong, I believed in what my country was doing in Vietnam. With military and economic aid and a
few thousand pilots and Army advisers, the United States was attempting to help the non-Communist Vietnamese
build a viable and independent nation-state and defeat a Communist guerilla insurgency that would subject them to a
dour tyranny
What is the author's connection to the social and political issues of his day?
He is a United States soldier who embraces the opportunity to fight and defeat communist forces in Vietnam
He is a United States soldier who is attempting to deceive the Vietnamese customs officials.
He is a journalist who believes in the United States government's intentions in Vietnam
He is a journalist who believes the United States goverment should offer greater aid to countries suffering from tyranny

The excerpt clearly states that he obtained a Journalist Visa. In the absence of any evidence in the excerpt to the contrary, we can safely infer that he is a journalist.

He stated that he believes what his country is doing in Vietnam and goes on highlight United States' attempt to flush communist guerilla insurgency out of Vietnam.

From the above points, therefore, one can strongly infer that the author is a United States journalist who is convinced of the steps the Unites States government is taking in Vietnam.

Cheers!