My Vietnam Perspective
I joined the Army, became an officer via OCS and went to Vietnam even though I was against the war. I can even prove it: my mother kept a copy of a paper I wrote before joining the Army in which I criticize our involvement.
On the other hand, my father was a First Lieutenant of Infantry in WWII and his father was an infantry lieutenant in WWI. I was a legacy of sorts, and I’m proud of my time in service and of my war record: I won two bronze stars, an air medal, an Army Commendation Medal and a Combat Infantryman’s Badge.
How is it possible to reconcile anti-war philosophy and voluntary war service? Three rationales served to at least ease the conflict in my mind. First, I was a college educated adult before joining the Army, and I had studied some history of our involvement in S E Asia. I didn’t subscribe to President Eisenhower’s domino theory. In fact, I thought our anti-communist stance in Asia would have been better serve by backing Ho Chi Minh. A nominal socialist, but hardly a friend of China or the USSR. Nevertheless, duty called. Not so much “my country, right or wrong” but rather that our foreign policy was in the hands of people I respected, and if we succeeded in promoting fair elections and democracy, so much the better.
Second, who was I to rebel against the government of the country that I love and which had provided a good life and promising future so far? I wasn’t about to skip to Canada — it just wasn’t in me. And last, I toyed with the idea of a military career. I’d gone to military school and flourished, so it didn’t seem crazy to consider the Army as a career. I had a student deferment, but it was canceled. My draft board contacted me to advise that I was likely to be drafted but if I enlisted I could go to OCS. I took the offer and volunteered in October 1967.
I don’t mean to give the impression that I went to war in a confused state of indecision or torn by regret. Military training is demanding, and I was focused on doing well from the moment it began. Nothing gets your attention faster than live ammo demonstrations and low-crawling under machine gun fire. Basic training, advanced infantry training (AIT), infantry officer candidate school and acclimatization training in Fort William B. Davis, Panama was the preparatory work I benefited from before I even set foot on Vietnamese soil. I was well prepared, and ready to serve even in a war I had opposed.
For one year I participated in the Vietnam War — six months in front line combat and six as a staff tactical officer. I was not wounded, neither physically nor mentally, a far as I can tell. I still think the war was wrong, but I’m proud to have served my country.