Fighting the Last War

While the computer was down, I had time to catch up on some reading so I went to the local library. I was looking for "Thunder Run" and a few books like that. Unfortunately, that book and Steve Vincent's "In The Red Zone" were both out. While I was in that section, I noticed a book called "Medal of Honor". I thought it was the most recent book out by that young author with lots of stories, but when I got it home, I realized it was a slightly older book. Then I noted that there was a writer I never heard of and commentary by "Mike Wallace". Yes, that Mike Wallace from CBS.

Still, I didn't let that deter me since I had flipped through the book quickly at the library and it had some interesting background and after information about Medal of Honor winners.

By story number three I noticed an interesting trend that came apparent by story number five that it was going to continue. Every single story (there were twenty I believe) had either commentary from the CMH holder or some brief information about their activities AGAINST the Vietnam War if they were alive at the time to experience that phenomenom. I'm not kidding either. Out of the hundreds of CMH winners that they could have profiled, they chose anti-Vietnam folks.

Believe me when I say I was not expecting the whole damn book to have almost every story end that way (and that's where it was, as if the writer had asked at the end of the interview for the opinion or had looked up the information about these men's activities) to include. I'm also not one to look for "agendas" of books that are largely supposed to be historical accounts, but I really couldn't help but notice it. In between the stories, Mike Wallace had independent commentary and every damn one, including the commentary on the civil war, some how veered into a direct comment or comparison to the Vietnam War era. About 3/4 of the way through, I stopped and looked at the first page of the book to see the copy right and it was 2002.

2002. Mike Wallace was still trying to make his case about the fallacy of the Vietnam War. The very last story in the book regarding Colonel Kelley who won the CMH during WWII and went on to serve through Vietnam, was the only story where a CMH holder said that he believed in his mission in Vietnam, but added the caveat that politics had hindered the fighting and that was what he was most upset about. However, it seemed that either Wallace or the writer pressed the man further to try to get more negative commentary and the man said again, after much reading a reflection away from the war, that it was fought wrong and might not have been a good thing to become involved in.

Last year, during the elections, I noted that Vietnam had shaped Kerry's entire life thereafter. Vietnam had apparently done the same for Wallace. I think that may be true for a number of baby boomers and slightly older folks. It's not WWII that made them who they are, but a war that was basically a loss. Baby boomers are still a large part of our aging population, but I think that a problem here is that my generation was far too young or not quite born yet, to have their ideas about America, wars and particularly Vietnam, shaped by that one war. It did not and does not define us.

If I had to pick a single defining moment, I'd be hard pressed to do so. For me, memory and defining history begins about the time I became a cognizant adult that looked at the world beyond school, fast cars, music and my personal angst. Those defining moments became the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of the USSR and Tianneman Square which signaled the new beginning for the spread of freedom and a hope for a future without nuclear holocaust; the Gulf War which seemed to signify that the UN was coming into it's expected role of uniting nations against evil and a new world where technology could make war quick and relatively bloodless (however false that premise really is); the massacre of the Shi'ites, Somalia, Rawanda and the Serbian genocides which made the idea of a functioning UN and the motto "never again" a hypocracy of the worse sort and proved once again that mankind truly could sink to a morality so low even a snake would be embarrassed; and, finally, September 11.

I realize that I did not list the first WTC bombing, Oklahoma, Waco, Ruby Ridge, Kenya, Nairobi, the USS Cole and any number of other activities that might be defining moments for others, but, too me, these were more like "Lee Harvey Oswald and the Magic Bullet". Lone acts of terrorism or insanity that I had not yet linked to our current conflict. I suppose the other thing that defines me or my generation is the incredible leap forward in personal technology that seemed to re-enforce the idea that the sky was the limit and we could not be held back by such mundane things as real politics.

These things define me more than any others. To me, this last decade and a half has said, "Freedom is grand and desired by all men, but we should remember the depravity of mankind and, finally, know that our own freedom and security is not guaranteed."

Maybe others would define themselves differently. I don't know, but I certainly do not believe that the Vietnam War defines me or my generation. The stories about the heroes were extremely interesting and I plan to write about some here. These are people and actions that should not be forgotten. They remind us that ordinary men in extraordinary circumstances are and always have been the real heroes. I am just disappointed that a book published in 2002 about heroism spent a large part of its time trying to fight the last war.

Catch Cassandra on a similar topic Dogs of War.