Presence of War, Absence of Peace

8/13/2019 Presence of War, Absence of Peace

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Presence of War, Absence of Peace

by Dr. Jeffrey M. Bowen

A Personal Perspective

1945-!14



"opic #entence $n%e&

1. War was all about heroes and games to a kid in the 1950s2. Full-scale war remained a festering possibility. War anchors key !merican beliefs and "alues

#. !merican studies in college highlighted the influences of war5. We got in"ol"ed in $ietnam% and then hopelessly entangled&. We bet on the wrong side from the beginning'. We were accelerating toward "iolence internally and e(ternally). *outes into the military were comple( and confusing9. ! bureaucratic clima( rapidly approached10. +ndoctrination was an o"erriding purpose for military training11. ,erspecti"e helped me see a bigger picture12. + suffered from military assignment shock1. his was a period known as $ietnami/ation of the war1#. Wartime tested family relationships

15. istress and comfort were oddly mi(ed in $ietnam1&. + ha"e tried to reconcile ideals with realities1'. + felt + had to stick with it1). + de"eloped psychological coping mechanisms19. y military ser"ice was far from o"er20. he ne(t three years represented a delay in my career goals21. he face of the military has continued to e"ol"e22. he 3+! has redefined the meanings of war and peace2. 4ow can we measure the impact of recent decades of war2#. War and the absence of peace are now perpetual for the 6.7.25. 4ere is what + ha"e concluded

2&. he military admittedly has pro"ided sil"er linings2'. War and competition fuel our media entertainment2). We make oursel"es into our own worse enemy



29. ,oor communication sets the stage for war0. + still hope for the best



"'e presence of war an% absence of peace are dual realities of multiple!merican generations% including my own -- the baby boomers. 8e"ermutually e(clusi"e% the two conditions seem to represent the ebb andflow of one great tide that has continuously washed back and forth o"er

the entire history of the 6nited 7tates. he baby boomers% that is those of us born during the 20 years or so afterend of World War ++% know this unsettling dynamic better than most. heimpact e(tends right into the present day% though the implications are byno means fully understood.

he peace-star"ed uality of our time has shaped my personal way oflooking at the world. !t one time more than four decades ago% + was anactual combatant. 8ow in my late si(ties% + ha"e found more time toreflect on and now write about what + ha"e e(perienced in my owngeneration and into the ne(t: namely% half-ended wars% the constantlikelihood of mobili/ed "iolence% and chronic illusions of peace.

y early awareness of !merican conflicts dates from the inconclusi"eend of the ;orean War in the early 50<s% but e"en a cursory glance at ourhistory shows the country in one kind of war or another% not includinginternal conflicts% long before the !merican *e"olution. he 6nited 7tateshas engaged in acts of war that total in the hundreds.

,rofessional historians ha"e e(hausti"ely e(amined the conseuencesof our wars. uplicating their efforts is not my purpose. y interest liesin reflecting on my personal encounters with 6.7. wars% related militaryincursions% and peace that ne"er stays around for long. yinterpretations will be from indi"idual and generational perspecti"es. +encourage others to try doing this if only for its therapeutic "alue.

ilitary ser"ice figures solidly into my family history. y father% $ictor4. =owen% was a career teacher and school administrator. When WW++occurred% apparently he had a choice but not an obligation to >oin themilitary. =ecause he was an older married man who taught inFramingham% assachusetts public schools% and because he did not"oluntarily enlist% my dad a"oided military ser"ice ? in fact% he ne"ercontemplated it until near the end of the war. hus military ser"icebelonged to other relati"es. y grandmother@s brother died as an earlya"iator in WW+. y mother<s brother% 6ncle =ill% ser"ed in the 8a"y inboth the !tlantic and the ,acific theaters in WW++ and was wounded in oneand had his ship sunk by a submarine in the other. y father-in-law%

Warren Warner% became a WW++ 8a"y draftee at age &. Finally% mywife<s grandfather% Aames a>or% was a career =ritish military man whoapparently li"ed up to his name most likely ser"ing in +ndia.

1. War was all abo(t 'eroes an% )a*es to a +i% in t'e 195!s. he ;orean War ended before + thought much about it. 7e"en years oldat the time% + did know ,resident Bisenhower was a great war hero% andthat my dad thought +ke was wonderful. + was somehow conditioned to



lioni/e our generals. +n my childhood naC"etD% war meant heroism% glory%patriotism% and the stuff of legends.

+n Eaconia% 8ew 4ampshire of the early 1950@s% my neighborhoodbuddies and + played cowboys and +ndians with cap guns% tomahawks%rubber kni"es% and Eincoln Eog forts. oy soldier collections and early $

serials helped shape my notions of war as legendary acts of courage andentertainment. !s a child + certainly accepted war as a highly effecti"eand con"incing way to beat the enemy and become a hero.

=y the mid 1950s% the tools and technology of war had begun tofascinate me. + glued together and displayed a growing collection ofmodel airplanes. y friend across the street assembled plastic warships%and my plastic aircraft competed with his destroyers and battleships. hee(perience taught me about the de"elopment of aircraft from thebiplanes of WW+ to the still mar"elous model of >et propulsion% the =-52. o this day% + know the aircraft model numbers and how the >et enginetransformed the power and practice war.

+n elementary school% + grew aware of the awesome capabilities ofatomic bombs% how they brought WW++ to an end% and why a simmeringconfrontation known as the 3old War meant we should ne"er feel entirelysafe. o me the 3old War was a heroic battle to stop communism% whichwas roundly condemned by our political leaders-- a plague that had to berooted out. =ack then + ne"er uite figured out why communism was acurse% but + did grasp the notion that it suppressed freedom and choice%and was the opposite of democracy. hat someone might be a communistparty member seemed supremely important as 7enator c3arthy<shearings played out on our early $.

Eooking back% + understand why spying became such a per"asi"e

preoccupation. +n the 3old War atmosphere of the 1950<s%communication between superpowers was formal and contentious at best.iplomacy pro"ed ineffecti"e when confronted by the spectacle of3ommunist ,arty 7ecretary 8ikita ;hrushche" pounding his shoe on thetable at the 6nited 8ations and threatening the 6.7. in no uncertainterms. ur troubled relationship with the 7o"iet 6nion was complicatedin the mid 1950<s when 3aptain Gary ,owers< 6-2 spy plane was shotdown inside *ussia.

he relationship is still troubled. Bnsconced in oscow% former8ational 7ecurity !gency employee Bdward 7nowden has publiclyreleased millions of pieces of highly confidential data produced from

technology-enhanced spying by the 87!. he international acrimony thishas caused is two-faced. B"ery country conducts espionage. he spybusiness seems to be the fulcrum on a balance between diplomacy andmilitary action. he 6.7. has a globally embarrassing habit of letting ourown misgi"ings about collecting confidential data hoist us onto the shortend of the seesaw.

. (ll-scale war re*aine% a festerin) possibility . !s a highschool senior% the fester broke into an open sore as our ci"ics class



ner"ously tracked the sketchy details of the =ay of ,igs in"asion and thebrinksmanship of our blockade of 3uba in response to missiles beinginstalled on the island by the 7o"iets. !bout this time% gi"en all the mediaco"erage% + became more aware of the partitioning of Germany and thecity of =erlin. We got to know 3heckpoint 3harlie and all about the

drama and carnage associated with attempts to escape to the West o"er%around% and under the =erlin Wall.What we were largely ignoring% according to historian 7tanley

;arnow% was that by 19& we were spending H#00 million annually on theother side of world to support the 7outh $ietnamese. wel"e thousandmilitary ad"isers were ser"ing thereI fifty of them had been killed while +was still in high school.

. War anc'ors +ey A*erican beliefs an% val(es. + took se"eral6.7. history courses in secondary school. +n those days we called it socialstudies. +n some ways it was anything but. Wars ser"ed as keychronological hitching posts for economic and ci"ic history. !bundantly

impressed on us in those classes was the idea that !merican ideals andgo"ernance were morally superiorJsomething the rest of the worldshould emulate and benefit from if only we pro"ided the forgi"eness andresources to enable the "anuished to rise from ruins. ur globalleadership to make the world safe for democracy% as Woodrow Wilsonput it% was imperati"e.

his kind of nationalistic passion inspired the topics + wrote intooriginal oratory + presented at many 8ational Forensic Eeaguetournaments my >unior and senior years in high school. y approach tooratory was to build different characters into my speeches and then toplay their roles in turn% sometimes using their uotes and sometimes

using my imagination. 3haracters like 4itler and Genghis ;ahn foundtheir way into contrasts + de"eloped to glorify !merican spirit typicallyembodied in characters like !braham Eincoln% artin Euther ;ing% and r. om ooley.

4. A*erican st(%ies in colle)e 'i)'li)'te% t'e infl(ences of war . +n my first semester as a >unior K19&5L at Williams 3ollege inWilliamstown% assachusetts% + took an introductory honors course titledMWar in !merican 7ocietyM. 7ome of the ideas from that course ha"ebeen "alidated again and again.

ne is that asking W4N uestions is a historical challenge because

the ground shifts e"ery time a new historian addresses a topic and looksat it from a current perspecti"e. he study of these shifts is calledhistoriography. +t is treacherous ground. What is more% trying to get atthe truths through original source documents can be decei"ing amongother reasons because what the writers really belie"e and what theyrecord as facts for posterity may be worlds apart. he lens of the presentalways distorts the reality of the past% so o"er time each war getsinterpreted in an e"er e"ol"ing seuence.



7econd% the meaning of national security% essentially since the endof WW++% has dramatically changed. uring the last half of the 20thcentury it no longer was defined as a matter of protecting our physicalboundaries. +nstead the 6.7. repeatedly inter"ened in the affairs ofcountries e"erywhere in the world where strategic economic or political

issues presented opportunities to nurture democracy and capitalism. hese days our conception of national security has morphed againas terrorism threatens our physical well being at e"ery corner.isasters like 9O11 and the >ihad-warped belief that glory lies in destroyingthe infidels and incinerating oneself ha"e once again redefined therelationship between national security and physical boundaries. !crossthe world% our property interests ha"e been e(panded by embassies%!merican-owned businesses% and territory we "iew as ours.

he latest breeding ground of national security issues is socialmedia. isclosures of sensiti"e intelligence data "ia the internet ha"egenerated hand-wringing and outrage. While disclosures of this kind are

an embarrassment to !merican diplomacy% they seem unlikely bythemsel"es to precipitate wars. he point is that national securityundergoes iterati"e redefinitions% and as it does it makes changes in thereasons and communication associated with war.

! third important reali/ation from my honors course and relatedcollege ma>or was that no"els like Aohn os ,assos@ 1919 and 8ormanailer@s he 8aked and the ead could tell historically authentic andnuanced stories about war% usually in ways that are much moreinteresting than chronicles or supposedly factual descriptions. !s a firstyear teacher% + would use os ,assos again to co-teach a mini-course orseminar about WW+ with a fellow Bnglish teacher. We tried to make

history and literature complement each other.5. We )ot involve% in /ietna*, an% t'en 'opelessly entan)le%.

=y my >unior year in college K19&5-&&L% 6.7. military action in $ietnam hadspawned growing protests especially on college campuses. ,erhaps partof the collegiate distress had to do with reports of growing numbers of!merican soldiers dying without declared war or compelling purpose% but +think another part was fear among students that they would be draftedand ha"e their future career plans disrupted. Bligibility became astressful% complicated preoccupation. here were 1) differentclassifications. he most common were the following: 2 7 meant youwere still a student and not eligible for the draftI #F meant you were

unfit for ser"ice Kusually due to your medical or health conditionLI and1! signified your a"ailability to enter the ser"ice. raft boards andeligibility% alternati"e ser"ice routes like the ,eace 3orps or $ista%conscientious ob>ector status% the 8ational Guard and the *eser"es% ande"en escaping the draft altogether and mo"ing to 3anada: !ll of theseand more became topics of heated and urgent discussion as students likeme tried to figure out how to pursue additional college work and delay orshort circuit being drafted into military ser"ice.



he compulsory aspect of it irked young people. 3onscriptionseemed unfair when we were in"ol"ed in a war that struck most of us asdisingenuous and potentially unwinnable. 7upposedly we were trying topreser"e democracy and thwart communism. he trouble was that thedefinitions of these terms in a $ietnam conte(t were unmercifully muddy.

General a(well aylor% in 19&5 about to ser"e as Eyndon Aohnson<sambassador to 7aigon% "isited our college campus and was met by a bigcrowd of an(ious% angry students who peppered him with ungraciousuestions. +n retrospect% the students would ha"e wholeheartedly agreedwith aylor<s post-war obser"ations% as uoted by historian 7tanley;arnow: First% we didn<t know oursel"es. We thought we were going intoanother ;orean War% but this was a different country. 7econdly% we didn<tknow our 7outh $ietnamese allies. We ne"er understood them. !nd weknew e"en less about 8orth $ietnam. Who was 4o 3hi inh 8obodyreally knew. 7o% until we know the enemy and know our allies and knowoursel"es% we<d better keep out of this kind of dirty business. +t<s "ery

dangerous. he so-called democratic regime we were supporting was riddledwith corruption and incompetence. he communists% on the other hand%seemed far more committed% well organi/ed for successful guerilla >ungletactics% and historically "alidated by successful efforts to pre"ent the3hinese and French from taking o"er% respecti"ely to either ad"ance theirbrand of communism% and for the sake of unification. =ut the north andsouth represented all $ietnamese% so e"idently we were interfering inwhat was ci"il war. We were e(pensi"ely propping up a puppet regimepredicated on an Bisenhower era misconception that if one country wentcommunist% the rest would follow across the Far Bast like falling dominos.

&. We bet on t'e wron) si%e fro* t'e be)innin). he8orth $ietnamese were tenacious% and we underestimated theirwillingness to die for their homeland for the sake of capturing andcontrolling it. +t was difficult to determine when or if any progress towarda resolution was being made. ur initial in"ol"ement reminds me of thebonds the Eilliputians tied around Gulli"er when he was do/ing. We weretrapped when we finally woke from our slumber.

ur engagement was based on a "ague and outdated rationale% andstaying in"ol"ed after about 19&) was more a matter of fighting tosal"age peace than anything else. ur in"ol"ement in combination withthe no(ious mandatory feature of the draft was loudly resisted by young

people who were increasingly distrustful of adult authority% includinggenerals% ambassadors% and national politicians.

he idea of staging sit-ins and organi/ed protests to get one<smessage across was familiar and effecti"e because it had been used with"i"id results% media co"erage% and political clout by blacks trying toeradicate discrimination throughout the 19&0s. 7tudents on collegecampuses embraced this strategy as a way to publici/e their opposition towar.



0. We were acceleratin) towar% violence internally an%e&ternally. + remember "i"idly that someone announced the onset of+srael<s se"en-day war with Bgypt right in the middle of senior-year socialhistory final at Williams. =y 19&) the 8orth $ietnamese and $iet 3onghad launched a et offensi"e that showed they could attack almost

anywhere at any time. heir losses were substantial compared to ours%but the media used this to con"ince the !merican public our forces were"ulnerable and ineffecti"e. eanwhile% that same year% =obby ;ennedywas murdered in yet another tragic act of "iolence without clear moti"e.!nd again in that same year% while + was studying at Aohns 4opkins6ni"ersity in downtown =altimore% my new wife and + fearfully watchedthe 8ational Guard patrol streets in armored "ehicles as race riots% fires%and looting destroyed parts of downtown and routes into Washington%.3.

!t the intersection of college graduation and grad school% wewitnessed a flood of o"erseas war and domestic "iolent riots and unrest

o"er race issues. hese simultaneous problems were something thate"eryone wanted to condemn% stop% get out of or a"oid in one way oranother. +t would not be long before $ietnam would drag me in andpi"otally influence the rest of my life.

. 2o(tes into *ilitary service were co*ple& an% conf(sin). Aust among my closest college friends% one went to officer school for the!rmy and spent two years assigned to intelligence ser"ices. !notherwent to Woodrow Wilson grad school at ,rinceton and ended up workingin a uasi-military capacity in Washington working in a special assignmentthat in"ol"ed setting up the lottery system for drafting young men. 7till

another fainted at the sight of blood. 4e took a physical which "alidatedhis problem and ga"e him a medical e(emption. 4e ended up going into$ista% the domestic eui"alent of the ,eace 3orps% where he spent acouple of years.

+n my case% a master of arts in teaching K!L program at Aohns4opkins ga"e me time to complete one full year of studying history inpreparation to teach it. he following year% a little more than a year aftergetting married% + recei"ed cancellation of my student classification statusand a draft notice to report within 0 days -- all on $alentine<s ay. ,riorto that prospecti"e drop dead date% ser"ing as a first-year teacher oninternship through the my grad program at Aohns 4opkins% + had spent

most all my time trying to stay one step ahead of some pretty sharp highschool >uniors and seniors in fi"e different !merican history classes.+ had disco"ered my school district<s prescribed "oluminous

college-oriented !merican history te(t was a poor way to get articulateand maturing high schoolers in"ol"ed in dialogue. Eike the te(tbooks ofyore Kalthough much richer in detailL% our te(tbook organi/ed history intoan endless seuence of wars from the *e"olution through the ;oreanWar. *ather than retracing e"ents and facts that were stuck in the past% +



found a better way to moti"ate my students was to make topics current%for e(ample by comparing the past and present causes and effects of warand in"iting them to debate the rele"ant issues.

!lso% + teamed up with a fellow Bnglish teacher who was an internfrom Aohns 4opkins and "olunteered to teach a mini-course that e(amined

perspecti"es on war through no"els. We were acutely aware of thecurrent war partly because we were teaching at =ethesda-3he"y 3hase4igh 7chool% pro(imate to .3. he themes were directly rele"ant topolicy deliberations and the homeland impact of foreign war. + hadstudents who skipped school e"ery day to "isit the steps of the 3apitolwhere the names of our war dead were read aloud on a daily basis.

!fter + recei"ed my draft notice telling me to report within 0days% + turned considerable attention to taking tests to try to ualify forofficer candidate school% while also trying to get into the 8.4. 8ationalGuard. his last effort failed e"en though + importuned my 8.4. 7enatorc+ntyre to inter"ene because% according to General 4ershey% whose

office was in charge of the draft% once you recei"ed a draft notice% youcould not alternati"ely enter an inacti"e branch of military ser"ice -- e"enthough there were plenty of openings.

!s for the tests% my math was too rusty to pass. + "i"idlyremember the fi"e-hour 67!F test because + scored well on all sectionse(cept the one that asked us to read topographical maps to determine ifwe could be adept at determining where bombs should be dropped. +failed that part with a /ero scoreP B"en now% maps gi"e me trouble. + likelandmarks and ideas much better. + was ready to try the tests again% butthe waiting period was si( months% and + couldn<t wait that long.

9. A b(rea(cratic cli*a& rapi%ly approac'e%. 7ince the teaching

was an internship reuirement for my degree% and since + was alsorecei"ing a full-time teaching salary% the situation was complicatedenough to con"ince me that talking with my local draft board could helpmy plight. + suspected that board figured + was >ust another errant draftdodger whose dad happened to be the local superintendent of schools.

+ made an appointment with the board in Eaconia% 8.4. to e(plainmatters% and to try to get a delay to enable me to finish out my year ofteaching. he committee of skeptical codgers found it hard tounderstand why + was getting full time pay when all this was >ust part of amasters program. + assured them + would enter the military when Aunearri"ed. !t length% + was granted an e(tension on my student deferment

until Aune% but + was told + would ha"e to enter the military immediatelythereafter. 4a"ing failed the officers< tests for the 8a"y and the !ir Force%+ reali/ed the only officer slots for which + might ualify were in the !rmy<sinfantry or artillery units. herefore% + opted for a delayed enlistment inthe 67!F% nai"ely comforted by my recruiter<s oral guarantee that + couldbecome a stateside educational counselor.



1!. $n%octrination was an overri%in) p(rpose for *ilitary trainin). +n 7eptember% 19&9 + began si( weeks of basic training as anenlistee at Eackland !ir Force =ase in 7an !ntonio% e(as. + uickly foundthat discipline% regimentation% and obedience to symbolic authority weretop priorities. B"eryone has to look the same% and they are e(pected to

act the same and take orders without uestion. he chain of commandenables orders to be gi"en and taken effecti"ely. 7o-called gigs were thepreferred method of ensuring uniformity and team mentality -- that ispenalties Ksuch as push-ups or denials of pri"ilegeL for things like lea"ingyour uniform button undone% or Kfor an entire suadron of 0 menL ha"ingboots not fully spit polished% or not tightening your bed co"ers so auarter would bounce if dropped on them. B"erything we did was tightlycontrolled to suppress indi"idual initiati"e. *ewards were essentiallycigarette breaks% which tempted many including myself to take upsmoking ? a habit that took a decade to break. ,hysical fitness wasabsolutely necessary% and this meant being able to run a mile in combat

boots within a specified time limit. hanks to basic training% + ha"econtinued aerobic K3anadian !ir Force inspiredL and callisthenic routinesfor years. o this day + e(ercise religiously using aerobics as a foundation.!fter #0 years% + belie"e + am healthier than most of my peers.

11. Perspective 'elpe% *e see a bi))er pict(re. +n combatsituations% simply to manage a group of indi"iduals efficiently and to keepthem solely on task% one has to count on unuestioned authority.,enalties Kand parsimonious rewardsL% threats% sanctions% symbols Ke.g.medals and stripesL% symbolic gestures Ke.g. salutesL and always obeyingone<s superiors KofficersL were essential when group mobili/ation becamenecessary. o make military ser"ice work% you needed far more thanweaponryI you needed powerful psychology.

1. $ s(ffere% fro* *ilitary assi)n*ent s'oc+ . !bout three daysin% + learned firsthand why recruiters cannot be trusted. +n a groupbriefing% those of us who were education specialists were asked to raiseour hands. he sergeant running that briefing then said K+ swear hechuckedL% !h-ha% this means you will go directly to 7aigon where you willteach $ietnamese to speak Bnglish and probably get shot at. hat "eryweek% the papers reported e(plosions at the language training school indowntown 7aigon% which was my future destination. y career fieldguarantee was a sham. y assignment was to go to $ietnam to teach

future 7outh $ietnamese aircraft or helicopter pilots con"ersationalBnglish in preparation for their being sent stateside to learn technicalskills that would prepare them to take o"er the military effort from the!mericans in $ietnam.

1. "'is was a perio% +nown as 3/ietna*iation of t'e/ietna* War . his initiati"e turned out to be a farce% but it was also anescape hatch. ,resident 8i(on% 7ecretary of 7tate ;issinger% and efense7ecretary c8amara had figured out how to e(tract us from a hugely



unpopular war without immediately losing face or worse. Eike the originalwar itself% the policy was an e(ercise in futility from the beginning.

14. Warti*e teste% fa*ily relations'ips. hroughout this tryingperiod% my wife 4illary earned "irtual sainthood. arried only two years%with >ust a high school diploma at the time% she took a series of low-

paying >obs to help us get by% learned how to deal with a cockroach-infested graduate apartment with fellow student "isitors at all hours% andto cook with help from Fanny Farmer. 8e"er once did she complain orwai"er in her commitment to help us get through the military and$ietnam. When + sat in casual control at Eackland !ir =ase% waiting fortech school to begin% she tra"eled down from 8.4. and we rented an off-base apartment in a low-rent 7an !ntonio neighborhood and bought abasset hound to keep her company. With daily permission from mysuper"isor% + was allowed to go off base to be with her each night. 7hestayed with this routine patiently% right through the end of tech schoolwhen we tra"eled back to 8.4. for a brief break before + had to report for

duty and tra"el to 7outh $ietnam. hroughout the ne(t year% she worked in the Eaconia 4igh 7chool

office and li"ed with my parents. What a trying time for her and for myparents tooP his was largely because they had to depend on tapes andletters from 8am to be assured + was ali"e and well. !n attack wasalways a possibility. We were acutely aware that se"eral of my highschool classmates had died in the war. ne was a debate-team star onhis way to a political career. 4e gambled on going enlisted in the !rmyand died in gunfire as he sat in a typing pool in an office on the edge of abase. =efore the end of the war% one in 10 who ser"ed there had becomea casualty.

15. Distress an% co*fort were o%%ly *i&e% in /ietna*. !fterse"eral weeks of casual control at Eackland% finally + entered si( weeks<of so-called technical training in language instruction. he system usedby the military was de"eloped by an entity known as the 8ational efenseEanguage +nstitute. +n the short time allowed% there was no possibility oflearning the comple( tone language of $ietnamese. here was no needbecause the 8E program relies on learning Bnglish by means of mimicryand repetition. he instructor models words% phrases% and sentences inBnglish and the students orally copy the instructor. e(tbook and boardcopy show the students what the instructor is actually saying. +t is asimple and effecti"e method of learning con"ersational Bnglish.



hus trained% + embarked on a full year away on the other side ofthe world where + taught 7outh $ietnamese enlisted men and officers inschools in 7aigon for four months% and 8ha rang% midway up the 7outh$ietnamese sea coast% for another eight months.

B"entually that year we learned that !*$8 K!rmy of the *epublic of$ietnamL cadets Ksome enlisted% some officersL were uick and geniallearners. ften French ser"ed as a bridge to Bnglish because some of theolder students knew it well from their early schooling. nly when weencountered something entirely unfamiliar to them did we struggle. Forinstance% none seemed to know what the term orange meant. 8obodyhad seen one for real in $ietnam% so the solution for instructors was tofind catalogues or maga/ines that would illustrate word meanings. he7ears catalogue was a "aluable asset. ur purpose was not to enablee(pertise in technical terms% but rather to effectuate basic competence incon"ersational Bnglish.

6nfortunately% once students graduated% many were delayed forweeks in casual control before being sent statewide to learn thetechnical side of flying planes and helicopters. uring those lingeringweeks still in-country% the students would regress pretty uickly in theirBnglish con"ersational capability. We ne"er learned how many made it tothe 7tates% but if they got there% learned well at tech school% and came

back to fly or repair our donated aircraft% ironically they were prolonging awar that could be won only by guerilla tactics% not by our propagandaKtrying to win the hearts and minds as our leaders put itL or by droppingbombs and firing missiles.

ur euipment% supplies% and facilities Kair fields% hospitals% planes%etc.L were incrementally turned o"er to the $ietnamese so they couldmaintain the war effort with our minimal assistance. +ronically% we had toask their permission to use our own >eeps% or to borrow mo"ies to watch



in our spare time. his was a strange and frustrating re"ersal ofauthority. Fortunately% we disco"ered we could hold on to some of ouramenities by gifting the $ietnamese with 7alem mentholated cigarettes% aprecious =Q commodity which they in turn could sell and profit from onthe black market.

+ spent the final eight months of my year-long tour in a beautifulbut war-worn seaside community halfway up the 7outh $ietnam coast. +understand why the French considered it the *i"iera of the Far Bast. + cansee why. ! long sandy beach to which we had access stretched from ourbarbed-wire-ringed comple( of beach "illas into town. 3ompared to manyser"ing in $ietnam% our protection from combat and our comparati"elu(ury made life surprisingly comfortable. he ad>oining air base hadbeen essentially turned o"er to the !*$8% and our personal contacts withthe 7outh $ietnamese were restrained but "ery friendly. 4owe"er% asmight be e(pected from any group of !merican ser"icemen in anunfamiliar war /one o"erseas% we tended to gripe and find fault where"er

we could. he food ser"ice operation was a sore point. he air basecafeteria was managed by the $ietnamese% and we suspected as a resultmost of the food supplies and funding were siphoned to the black market%lea"ing us with meals that tasted lousy and looked worse. We escapedreal depri"ation by borrowing >eeps from our $ietnamese liaisons anddri"ing o"er to the nearby !rmy base or Green =eret base% or e"en the8a"y base% where 6.7. military food managers had somehow conni"ed tomaintain control and keep the food supply lines free of corruption. heirmeals were uite abundant and tasty% but it was difficult to get to one ofthese alternati"e bases% and our doing so was frowned on by the officers.

+n some respects% this logistically sums up how my $ietname(perience went. Nou sur"i"ed or succeeded by maneu"ering around theestablished system and the rules. 7crounging was practically an artform. Nou had to figure out who knew whom% and how you could getthem to gi"e you leeway% a choice% or some de"ice that would better yoursituation. Few on my ad"isory team really e(pected our 67!F super"isorswould always play fairly% or that they were any more committed than wewere to preser"ing democracy% safety and happiness for the 7outh$ietnamese. ost were career senior or chief master sergeants. 7ometended to resent college graduates% and all 0 on my team were. Weresented back% but also reali/ed they were constrained by their

commanding officers and the pre"ailing policy of deferring to the 7outh$ietnamese military commanders. B"eryone seemed to be making thebest of an una"oidable situation% attempting to endure their tour of dutyin a hot and steamy climate as comfortably as possible.

Ruite honestly% after enduring 7aigon for four months where weli"ed in a run-down hotel in the 3hinese section known as 3holon% taughtin a school ringed with opium dens% and at times choked on the stench ofopen sewers and motor bike fumes% the lucky few of us who "olunteered



and were selected for 8ha rang found it a refreshing change. heweather was better Kmonsoon season had ended there% while >ust startingin steamy 7aigonL. here were plenty of =Q lu(uries such as classycameras and stereo euipment for installation in our beach "illas.

3ommunications from home made life easier as well% as 4illary and +

e(changed audio tapes routinely% and regularly she sent gifts such ascookies and at 3hristmas% a little tree with decorations to boot. 4alfwaythrough a year<s tour% there was an a"ailable Kbut too costly for meLoption to take a week-long break in 4awaii% Aapan% or !ustralia.

espite this% my ad"isory team and + complained about hardships.+n longer perspecti"e% it has become easy to emphasi/e what most peoplee(pect--dire conditions of war and in>usticeI but in fact% we had it mucheasier than many would belie"e. 6ndoubtedly we were far better offphysically and psychologically than the !rmy grunts who had to fly intothe interior or wade through the swamps on patrol.

When physical threats occurred at 8ha rang% they were rare and

bi/arre. ortar attacks from the nearby mountains occurred once inawhile% but all of them were directed at the >oint fuel dump which waslocated on the other side of the air base from our housing. he casualtiesfrom those attacks were all $ietnamese because the shacks and sheltersbuilt by the population displaced by the war were restricted to landad>oining the fuel dumps.

ne strange e"ening all hell broke loose up the road from ourhousing. +t sounded like a ma>or fire fight% so we put on our flak >ackets%grabbed our -1&<s% and took shelter under our beds% waiting for the allclear sirens. !s it turned out% with 7outh $ietnamese security personnel%stationed near the 8a"y ship that pro"ided electricity to the bases

clustered in the area% had fired rounds at some imaginary target% therebycausing other security units to fire back at will -- where"er they thoughtthey saw the enemy. !fter a half hour of apparently aimless crossfire%someone must ha"e said% Wait a minuteP 8o $iet 3ong are anywherearound here. Eet<s stopP + was uite sheltered from dangerous acts ofwar during my stint% but + was definitely e(posed to acts of both !mericanand $ietnamese stupidity.

16. $ 'ave trie% to reconcile i%eals wit' realities. o this day +find it difficult to reconcile the policy and conduct of the war with mybeliefs and obser"ations. + felt a duty to ser"e% but + thought the $ietnamwas an absolutely stupid inter"ention at the same time. + couldn<t

con"ince myself that + honestly ob>ected to war on moral grounds. +looked at the paperwork a potential conscientious ob>ector had tocomplete. + could not muster a firm moral ob>ection to what + was doing.=ut + strongly ob>ected to it on other grounds. + >ust thought it was >usttragically shortsighted% and downright de"oid of strategic or economic"alue.

+ was unwilling to a"oid ser"ice% or more specifically a stint in$ietnam% by escaping to 3anada--or into some alternati"e kind of ser"ice.





o"er-e(posed in our military gear% so we stuffed our boots and fatiguesinto bathroom waste baskets and got into ci"ilian clothes as uickly aspossible. We wanted to be inconspicuous. 8o one wanted to be remindedof the !merican tragedies in $ietnam% including oursel"es.

1. $ %evelope% psyc'olo)ical copin) *ec'anis*s. he one +

fashioned during and after my $ietnam tour was to rationali/e that lifewould always throw me nasty cur"es and produce potentially negati"echoices. =ut for e"ery cur"e or negati"e option there was somethingpositi"e that + could learn and take away -- something that on balancewould be a long-range gain. he key was to focus on whate"er goodcould be scrounged% sal"aged% and treasured in e"ery lousy situation. +nother words% the cloud always has some sil"er lining% you >ust ha"e to lookfor it and learn from it% and grow stronger. Nou had to e(pect that no onewould gi"e that to you as a gift. +t had to be earned and re-earned e"erytime an ad"erse circumstance appeared. *eally% e"er since then% + ha"elooked at life this way.

19. My *ilitary service was far fro* over. he lowest pointcame toward the end of my year in $ietnam when e"eryone on myad"isory team recei"ed a so-called dream sheet. +t allowed each of us --and all of us were college graduates -- to list up to 10 bases we preferredto be stationed at when we returned. !lso% we were told that when wereturned stateside% we would ha"e one of three positions% and we couldchoose one of them. he three choices were: corrosion specialist Krustremo"erL% painter% or military police. n behalf of our team of 0 collegegrads% two of us went to our enlisted lifer super"isor% a senior mastersergeant. o paraphrase% we said% Nou ha"e got to be kiddingP his isnutsP 7urely you can gi"e us better choices than thisP We are allcollege graduates and we can do more for the 67!F in some field that willuse our education and ualificationsP

6ltimately the argument was recogni/ed to some e(tent% and myaccepted choice from a re"ised list was to become an on-the->ob trainingcoordinator in a base hospital. his meant + would keep records on thesuadron<s physical fitness% weight% and maintain records of theircompletion of on-the->ob-training in "arious le"els of their hospitalspecialties. + was a paper pusher% although the military<s A learningsystem surely is one of the best and most effecti"e that + ha"e e"erencountered. he real deus e( machina in this work Kagain a matter oftrying to be resourceful and find my own way to a comfortable landingspot within a massi"e systemL was getting placed in a hospital where +knew there would be air conditioning. ost of the bases stateside were inhot% dusty locations where the terrain was flat for aircraft. + wanted tostay cool% and do something administrati"e% simple as that.

+ also hoped one of my choices for a base would be in the 8ortheastwhere my wife and + had aging parents. nly one of my 10 choices waselsewhere because + couldn<t find a 10th base in the northeast. + made



my 10th and last choice as =eale !F=% a 7!3 base located in 3alifornia<s7acramento $alley. !s + should ha"e e(pected% that is e(actly where +was stationed for the ne(t 2.5 years% the remaining time on myenlistment. his base supported a full complement of ear-splittingly loudblack birds% 7*-'1s% planes that flew nearly in the stratosphere across

the globe% spying on the rest of the world. here was also a suadron of =-52<s and two suadrons of ;3-15tankers to fuel them. + knew these well from my childhood model-buildingdays. 8ot long after mo"ing into an off-base garden apartment% we metand became lifelong friends with one of the pilots% actually the youngestaircraft commander in the 67!F at the time. Aack Aohnson and others inour apartment comple( were officers% but that meant little to oursel"esand our wi"es off base or interpersonally. Aack<s officer pay did enablehim and his wife Aenny to afford a two-bedroom apartment% whereas wehad to scrape by to pay the rent for a one bedroom.

he biggest fringe benefit from our location was that it was >ust

o"er the 7ierras from my sister who li"ed in *eno% 8e"ada% where herhusband was a $, and controller at 4arrah<s casino. hus we got to seeshows for free whene"er we could get o"er there. eanwhile% Eieutenant Aack spent months at a time o"erseas flying =-52<s in bombing runs o"er3ambodia% the area to which the 8orth $ietnamese and $iet 3ongescaped when they weren<t attacking inside the $ietnam border. Wewatched out for Aack<s wife while he was gone. While they ha"e longsince retired from the !ir Force KAack as a colonelL and mo"ed down south%we will always remember the bonds of friendship we forged in wartimeand under duress.

!. "'e ne&t t'ree years represente% a %elay in *y career )oals.

+ wanted to get into school administration or college teaching% or e"enreturn to high school teaching. =ut in the meantime there were plenty ofgood times% with trips to 7an Francisco% *eno% and camping up the3alifornia coast. +n our off-base apartment comple(% we became friendswith many 67!F families% including tanker pilot !l 4ill and his spouse Bllie%both of whom went on afterwards to 7tanford =usiness 7chool% and tankerpilot ike Ee3lair Know a retired dentistL and his abundantly pregnant wife iny. ur partying around the pool was good fun. he war seemed farremo"ed% with the e(ception of those =-52 bombing runs that took someof the officers out of the picture from time to time.

When the time came for an early release from acti"e duty% + got an

honorable discharge as a four-stripe staff sergeant% along with an !irForce meritorious ser"ice award for the o"erseas teaching stint. + hadapplied for and had been accepted with a full fellowship in a doctoralprogram in educational administration at the 7tate 6ni"ersity of 8.N. at!lbany. eanwhile 4illary was on her way to deli"ering our first child --3arrie% in !lbany% 19'. ne of the military<s sil"er-lining gifts was the G+bill which paid me a modest monthly li"ing stipend through the ne(t twoyears of schooling.



1. "'e face of t'e *ilitary 'as contin(e% to evolve. wo yearslater% when 7aigon fell% it hardly surprised us. he intensity andimmediacy of war had long since abated for us. =ut the summary ofnumbers remains staggering. Within my generation% as reported onmultiple web sites% 9.'S are $ietnam "ets. From 19&# through 19'5%

about 9 million G+<s ser"ed. From 19&5 on% about 2.' million did so withinthe geographical boundaries of $ietnam. he number who died in actiontopped #0%000% while another fi"e thousand died of their wounds% andnine thousand died in related accidents. ore than 200%000 militarypersonnel were in>ured.

+n a comprehensi"e demographic re"iew of the military in 200#%published by the ,opulation *eference =ureau% authors a"id and ady7egal point to the far-reaching economic implications of abolishing thedraft in 19'. For the first time% the military entered the ci"ilian labormarket% and competiti"ely became the largest single labor force in thenation. he transition to a military that dominates employment in certain

city locations across the country% and is a ma>or factor in at least 0states% has intensified e"er since. +n the early 2000s we were home toabout 2& million "ets. oday we recruit appro(imately 200%000 men andwomen annually. 7tateside only their total e(ceeds 1.1 million. heircombined influence is a dri"er in our domestic economy% while continuedpresence o"erseas is striking. We maintain a far higher proportion of ourmilitary o"erseas than does any other country in the world. hey arestationed in 150 different countries% more than '5 percent of the totalworldwide% and the acti"e-duty count is about 1&#%000. his makes thecurrent-day !merican military more of an e(peditionary force than thehome-based forces found in other countries.

n a more personal le"el% by the mid 19'0s our attentions hadturned to doctoral dissertations% two babies K7eth was born in 19'&L% andgainful employment. he military did come back to "isit us periodically%as se"eral 67!F ad"isory team friends and my hospital suadroncommander% Eieutenant *ubenstein% paid us "isits. We always suspectedthe Eieutenant was bise(ual% and + think he "isited us from 8N3 >ust to besure we reali/ed this. on<t ask% don<t tell was the silent rule wefollowed throughout my ser"ice. +t was a comfort to the Eieutenant thatwe suspected his life style well in ad"ance% and assured him we weredefinitely ; with it. +t has taken years for the military establishment andthe general public to condone bise(uality in the military.

War percolated up on our national hori/ons and in our concernsthroughout the following decades. What we witnessed was an e"olutionin the types of wars the 6.7. engaged in. +t was episodic% typicallyin"ol"ing e"acuations% logistical support% rescues% training% deployment insupport or in con>unction with multinational initiati"es% restorations ofother go"ernments< so"ereignty KEebanon% 19)2L% restoration of law andorder KGrenada% 19)L% interceptions of hi>ackers% escorting threatened



oil tankers% safeguarding the ,anama 3anal K19))L% wars on drugs%repelling coups K,hilippines% 19)9L and many more purposes.

+nter"entions spanned 3entral !merica% !frica% =osnia% and by 1990-91% a war with a name -- the Gulf War or peration esert 7torm. =y2001% the horrifying act of terrorism that brought down the win owers in

8N3 and damaged the ,entagon% killing se"eral thousand !mericans%precipitated combat preparedness by the 6.7. on a global scale% as,resident =ush acted under authori/ation by the War ,owers *esolutionto pre"ent and deter terrorism. his turned out to be the mother of allopen-ended commitments. +n ctober of 2001% the ,resident reportedthat 6.7. armed forces had begun combat operations in !fghanistanagainst !l Raida terrorists and their aliban supporters. hus began adecade of global war on terrorism with pus-oo/ing highlights such asthe wars in +ra% !fghanistan% ;oso"o% and Eibya% among other countries.

7tudies cited and annotated by 7. =rian Wilson present somestartling statistics. =ased mostly on 6.7. public go"ernment reports% it is

estimated that some '0 nations hosted 6.7. bases and installations at theend of WW++. 7ince then% amid ongoing nuclear-infused antagonismbetween oursel"es and the *ussians% 3hinese% and others% 6.7. militarybases ha"e been used to support more than 200 military inter"entions inthe hird World% and that is >ust through 1991 KGerson% A. and =irchard% =.eds.% K1991L he 7un 8e"er 7etsL.

. "'e 7$A 'as re%efine% t'e *eanin)s of war an% peace. When ,resident 4arry ruman signed a national security directi"e in 19#)that authori/ed co"ert operations% followed by the inception of the 3+! thefollowing year% it triggered and still is used to "alidate thousands of co"ertoperations by the 6.7. ranging from what 7. =rian Wilson catalogues as

assassination attempts% go"ernment o"erthrows and paramilitaryoperations% propaganda efforts% interference in free elections% andeconomic destabili/ation campaigns. !s reported by prominent retired3+! irector Aohn 7tockwell% and tabulated further by r. Wilson% between19#' and 1990% the 6.7. conducted about %000 ma>or and as many as10%000 minor co"ert operations...killing at least & million% with someestimates claiming 20 million% and e"en 50 million deaths due to smallwars within the 3ole War since the end of WW++.

. 8ow can we *eas(re t'e i*pact of recent %eca%es of war he numbers alone are big and re"ealing. We are home to >ustappro(imately 22 million war "eterans% though thankfully our youngestones K1)-5L are far smaller in number K1.) millionL than our older"eterans Ko"er &5 like meL who add up to 9.& million% upwards of half of all!merican "ets. !s o"erseas war casualties ha"e mounted% especiallyfrom the ,ersian Gulf Wars% post traumatic stress disorder K,7L hasproliferated -- a phenomenon not clearly identified clearly until after$ietnam.



7ince 2001% the epartment of $eterans !ffairs reports% we ha"esent more than 2 million soldiers to +ra and !fghanistan. he cost oftreating all "eterans% including those with ,7% amounts to an estimatedH#) billion. 7uicides are one of the nastier side effects of our constantstate of war. *ecently% based on sur"ey estimates in"ol"ing less than

half of the states% suicides among military "eterans ha"e reached 22 perday% a rate of one e"ery hour. he highest rates of suicide are among$ietnam "eterans% who reportedly are the least likely to seek helpbecause they tend to be e(tremely distrustful of go"ernment. Frompersonal e(perience% + don<t wonder why.

,artly due to our economic troubles% and partly because careeropportunities are amply a"ailable through our military% more and morefemales ha"e been >oining the ranks. he number is comparati"elymodest K1.& million "eterans compared to the 21.2 million totalL% butincreasingly% as they take on combat roles% they are encountering andpushing against barriers of se(ual discrimination.

4. War an% t'e absence of peace are now perpet(al for t'e:nite% #tates. here are many ways to gauge !merica<s militarymoti"ations in recent years. For this century alone% war in perpetuitycould be called an !merican slogan. Aust recently% at 1# years old% ourinter"ention in !fghanistan has been declared our longest foreign war.

hroughout my life% the military has been big business. he economicbenefits of remaining on a war footing ha"e moti"ated business interests%allied with political and military leadership% to keep us ine(tricablyin"ol"ed in testing% producing% marketing and using the weaponry of war.+ndeed% war has been and continues to be a dominant factor in ourgo"ernment purchases% in"estments% and ta(ationI in our internationaldiplomacyI in our medical and social ser"icesI in our efforts to maintainci"il order or to address natural disastersI in our institutional educationKe.g. career opportunityL and entertainment Ke.g. !rmy-8a"y footballgameLI and surely in the disruption and an(ieties it has spawned in!merican family life.

4ow ha"e all these inter"entions affected my family and me hankfully% since my four years in the 67!F% not too much% as my son%son-in-law% and three nephews had no draft to contend with% and theirages and lack of interest in the *eser"es or the 8ational Guard helpedthem a"oid our ,ersian Gulf wars and additional military engagements.

+n 201-1#% now retired from a career in public educationaladministration% + ha"e spent some time reflecting on the floods of war andthe temporary ebbs of peace that ha"e influenced our li"es.

5. 8ere is w'at $ 'ave concl(%e%. !merican cultural traditionsand our policies and practice% really since 1'9)% ha"e re"ol"ed aroundwars -- preparations for it% diplomacy linked to it% and all the euipment%technology% and "iolent predispositions that must often make us anintimidating and unpredictable force throughout the world. !mericans are



capable of ama/ing acts of kindness and generosity% but it is nocoincidence% in fact it is a constitutional right% that we own a huge array ofweapons and use them freuently to fight wars against others and tocommit crimes against oursel"es.

ur ongoing seuence of our wars% the continuous unpeaceful

brinksmanship associated with maintaining de"astating weaponry% andour chronic in"ol"ement in smaller-scale inter"entions ha"e implicationsthat e(tend far into the future. ne of the most dramatic is the use ofnuclear power. !t the birth of my awareness of war lingers a horrific coupde grace% a sudden end to a worldwide war deli"ered by atomic bombsthat killed some 220%000 Aapanese and in>ured 100%000 more. hroughmy life% and certainly now% the capability to make an atomic bomb andthe international attention gi"en to stockpiles and conditions that mightcause a nuclear holocaust are tense concerns for multiple generations.n the other hand% positi"e peacetime applications of nuclear powerinclude huge sources of low-cost energy with commensurate reductions in

carbon-based pollution. 6nfortunately% nuclear energy has producedintractable problems represented by diplomatic maneu"ers of the scariestkind and potential radioacti"e contamination that could last for centuries.

3ontinuing in a positi"e "ein% historically% military ser"ice hasameliorated racial and ethnic discrimination. oday 11. percent of our"eterans are black% and 5.' percent are 4ispanic% according to the 2012!merican 3ommunity 7ur"ey. *elated technology% and e"en the poisongasses we currently so condemn in 7yria% ha"e led to medications andtreatments that ha"e significantly blunted the effects of cancer and otherdiseases. War has demanded technological inno"ations to fight moreeffecti"ely. !mericans tend to be resourceful in"entors% so adaptations in

electronic communications% for e(ample% ha"e made us worldwide leadersin the global economy. !s for transportation% the ci"ilian 4ummer "ehiclesymboli/es the e(tent to which military technology has found its way intoour automoti"e industry. G,7 locator systems and many different radarand sonar applications are military in origin but now are a routine%sometimes lifesa"ing feature of our li"es.

nly 11 times in our history ha"e we formally declared war on othernations. his entailed fi"e separate wars. =ut our nearly countlessundeclared wars and co"ert operations% and our cooperati"e forays withother allies% are a constant reminder that our strategic interests -- ourmilitary bullying if you want to call it that -- span the world and "ictimi/e

especially those hird World countries that cannot do much about ourinterference.

errorism has demanded constant "igilance and security-mindedness. We remain continually ready to protect oursel"es and ourallies almost regardless of our physical boundaries. 4owe"er% hundreds ofyears before anti-terrorism became our declared mission% the 6.7. wasperpetrating warlike acts with surprising freuency.



We ha"e played a leading role in de"eloping institutions like theEeague of 8ations and the 6nited 8ations to preser"e and hopefullycontrol international peace. he mechanisms we ha"e de"eloped tomaintain international diplomacy and pre"ent open war are no lessimpressi"e than our direct in"estments in keeping !merican soldiers in a

well euipped state of combat readiness. ragic implications for thefuture can be found in our chronic tendency to pursue a"enues that leadus to war internally% and with other countries% and on an e"eryday basisas our citi/ens murder and maim one another with weapons reallydesigned for nothing beyond military use Ki.e. killing peopleL.

6. "'e *ilitary a%*itte%ly 'as provi%e% silver linin)s. hereare compensating factors for what otherwise sounds like uttercondemnation of !merican militarism and "iolence. ne is oure(traordinary effort to honor those who ha"e fought for us in wars% and tosupport their families. We try to make sure they are remembered asheroes% e"en though many are buried due to senseless acts of "iolence in

faraway lands. ur go"ernment pro"ides free medical care% reducedprices at =Q<s% and other on-base-related benefits to the e(tent that li"ingon an !merican military base is a comparati"ely comfortable e(perience.!s for those who are no longer acti"e% all kinds of counseling and socialsupport systems such as the $! and $FW are abundant. ur charities%schools% and other nonprofit entities seek all kinds of donations that canbe sent to ser"ice men and women especially in the iddle Bast.

Finally% my first post-military sil"er lining of $! educational benefitswas followed by a second one that was >ust as "aluable: a $! mortgagewith no down payment on our current home in ele"an% 8.N. + keep mydischarge papers handy for submission because ha"ing been in the

military often produces reductions in property ta(ation% or additionalretirement benefits Kyears of credit for ser"iceL% or discounts on resortcharges.

here were some interesting war-related re"elations when + recentlyattended my 50th high school reunion in Eaconia% 8ew 4ampshire. Forone% in sharing stories and history with my classmates from the class of19&% + disco"ered that most of us had been paddling upstream in thesame boat when the rapids of $ietnam engulfed us. ore of myclassmates than + reali/ed had ser"ed in that war and during that time.!ll in all% most e"eryone trudged into or around the bureaucracy and paidtheir military dues% once in a while making it a career% sometimes simply

using G+ =ill educational benefits to ad"antage% but ultimately mo"ingpast the war and into successful careers and domestic life.

hese days the 6nited 7tates restlessly stands on the precipice ofwar because of terrorism seems rampant. his reality dramaticallycontrasts with the widespread perception of in"ulnerability we en>oyedsome 50 years ago. he immediacy of "iolence is a signal feature ofcontemporary !merican life. 7uicide bombing% drones% and pro>ectilesfired from military-style weaponry ha"e turned acts of "iolence into an



omnipresent phenomenon. When murders are committed in this country%with frightening freuency they ha"e military implications either because"eterans are in"ol"ed% or because military strategies and weaponry areused.

0. War an% co*petitions f(el o(r *e%ia entertain*ent. !n

e"er changing schedule of films and t" shows based on thwartingterrorism and war% and athletic competition like hockey% football% andmi(ed martial arts% con"incingly demonstrate that we ha"e a seriousaddiction to watching "iolence as entertainment. his is nothing new.*emember all those cowboy shows of the 50<s and &0<s ne differenceis that nowadays there are so many more "isually striking ways todramati/e the use of weapons and resulting gore% death and mayhem.

. We *a+e o(rselves into o(r own worse ene*y. + ha"e li"edthrough the wake of the ;orean War in the 1950<s% academics in highschool and college% military ser"ice in the late &0<s and early '0<s% andprofessional and family life thereafter. !ll the while% whether wars ha"e

been declared or not% the 6.7. has been engaged behind the scenes inco"ert operations and smaller-scale inter"entions and incursions acrossthe world.

From my perspecti"e% like the cartoon character ,ogo of manyyears ago% + ha"e seen the enemy% and he is us. We are blessed withabundant resources with which to li"e comfortably and at the same timeto wage war% and fueling our dual capability is our o"erweening pride andan often inflated opinion of oursel"es and our type of go"ernance.

ne of the more "i"id and impactful illustrations of our obtuseunwillingness to admit fault on the roadway to and from war belongs to*obert c8amara% our 7ecretary of efense under ,residents ;ennedyand Aohnson% from 19&1-19&). +t took him 25 years after the $ietnam Warended to admit publicly that the fog of war had clouded his >udgmentabout continuing to prosecute war in $ietnam to a disastrous conclusion.

Aournalist om =rokaw obser"es that c8amara finally% almosttragically% acknowledged what the foreign minister of 8orth $ietnam toldhim when he "isited the country years after the war. !s c8amararecalled% the minister pointed out that if he had read any history book% hewould ha"e found the $ietnamese were not pawns of the 3hinese or the*ussians. on<t you know we<"e been fighting the 3hinese for athousand years We were fighting for our independence and we wouldfight to the last man.

here is historical truth in an obser"ation that grew out of my yearsof coursework in !merican 7tudies in college% especially in politicalscience. !mericans often take risks% resist authority% act independently%and can be pig-headedly uncooperati"e. his tends to happen essentiallybecause such beha"ior and attitudes are constitutionally and lawfullysanctioned by our form of democracy. 7tubborn independence andrugged indi"idualism are !merican character traits. =ut so too% as !le(is



eocue"ille obser"ed in his !merican tra"els in the 1)0<s% !mericansare among the first to "oluntarily and politically organi/e themsel"es. hey were and are a nation of ci"ic >oiners.

4istorically% up through the 19th century% the citi/en soldier modelpre"ailed% where a militia came together uickly when a real threat to

their security became e"ident. !mericans ha"e always had a high boilingpoint partly because formal go"erning decisions ha"e temperingdeliberation built in% with plenty of checks and balances% but when certainmoral or ethical thresholds are crossed% 6.7. citi/ens always knew how tobring out their rifles% in"est their resources% and prepare themsel"es tofight.

!gain% historically% when an imminent threat dissipated% or when itbecame clear there would be no definiti"e "ictory% or when ourinter"ention became an unwelcome intrusion% 6.7. citi/ens ha"e lost theirpassions and unity uickly and ha"e essentially deconstructed theirmilitary.

he citi/en-solder model has changed dramatically as our hugestanding military has become a multi-purpose institution. !s a"id 7egaldescribed it a decade ago% the !merican military is "iewed as a form ofnational ser"ice% an occupation% a profession% a workplace% a calling% anindustry% and a set of labor markets.

!s for our wars% disengaging without a clearly defined "ictory hasbeen the pre"ailing outcome. ne of the results has been the stressfulabsence of real peace. $ietnam stands out because it cost some 5)%000combat and non-combat !merican li"es but ultimately produced "irtualfailure. 8onetheless% $ietnam ultimately showed us that in the aftermathof awkward% humiliating defeat% memories do fade and life regains "itality.

+t should come as no surprise that !mericans now regularly rent orpurchase e(pensi"e condos where they thri"e and work in 4o 3hi inh3ity Kformerly 7aigonL. here remains much to be learned from thelessons of the $ietnam war as we seek to reduce our commitments to+ra% !fghanistan% and possibly 7yria.

9. Poor co**(nication sets t'e sta)e for war. While we ha"emade great political and social strides toward ameliorating discriminationand protecting the rights of the disad"antaged% we struggle to understandand communicate well with other countries where democracy may ne"erthri"e. errorism has made us chronically fearful about national security.+t may not risk be outright or full-scale war% but it certainly defines the

meaning of the absence of peace. espite worldwide internetaccessibility and mind-boggling channels of international communication%our national leaders and our citi/enry generally see globalism as >ust asmuch a threat as an opportunity.

Eet<s face it. We are poor international communicators. Wecontinue to wage wars entrapped by our ignorance and lack of sympathyfor the cultural% religious% ethnic% political and strategic imperati"es thatmoti"ate factions elsewhere in the world% especially in the iddle Bast.



+ronically% in some respects% e"en $ietnam still highlights our internationalblindside regarding moti"es. 7ur"eys continue to show that '5-)5percent of the !merican public remain con"inced that the war there waslost not because of arms but because of a lack of political will. helessons of 8am may ne"er be fully absorbed.

!. $ still 'ope for t'e best. Future 6.7. declared wars may ha"esome reasonably long respites. When we do una"oidably face war%hopefully we can find ways to short circuit the inclination and conductwin-win diplomacy where all parties can sa"e face. War is such a tragicwaste in countless ways. 7o too is the absence of peace% whichundermines our sense of well being% while chewing up gargantuanamounts of ta(payers< dollars in an effort to reinforce security. We muststrike a fle(ible balance between "iolence and protections against"iolence% and learn to listen carefully and recepti"ely to those who seekde-escalation and durable peace ? instead of impugning their reputationsand moti"es.

!bo"e all% + fer"ently hope that !mericans will de"elop the habit andskill to step back from the brink of war and muster enough courage todemand alternati"e solutions and an assuring peaceful way to li"e. hroughout my life% we ha"e worked hard at threatening and waging war.ay we learn to wage peace with e"en greater commitment.

r. Aeffrey . =owen% ele"an% 8ew Nork 1#0#2Bmail: >effreybowen'Tgmail.com

Aanuary 201#

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Documents

Presence of War, Absence of Peace