"VIETNAM WARRIOR VOICES"

Writing profiles of Vietnam vet-authors was the least I could do.

VIETNAM WARRIOR VOICES

Writing profiles of Vietnam vet-authors was the least I could do. As one who didn’t serve in that distant conflict, I wanted to honor those who did. In 2017, I published VIETNAM WARRIOR VOICES, chronicling four men who channeled their wartime experiences into artistic expression.

         “So attention must be paid.” The line from Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman inspired me when I wrote my 2017 book, Vietnam Warrior Voices: Life Stories of Philip Caputo, John Del Vecchio, Robert Olen Butler and Tim O’Brien. In profiling these Vietnam vet-authors, I explored how post-traumatic growth shaped their creative lives.

         I didn’t join the military in 1971 due to a student deferment and high draft number (262). The son of a WWII vet, who grew up playing “Army” with friends, inspired by war movies and TV shows, I always assumed I would serve my country when the time came. Instead, I engaged in long collegiate rap sessions.

         My older brother, Mike, had lost a best friend, Marine Corporal Donald Turso, in Vietnam. Twenty years later, I had a remarkable experience while visiting the Memorial. I wandered the path beside the imposing black marble panels. Something made me stop and face the wall. Right at eye level was Turso’s name. Vietnam vets have told me this wasn’t happenstance. I was meant to find his inscription and pay tribute.

         During my college teaching years, I often resented the blank stares of Millennial students when discussing Vietnam. But my critical attitude was misplaced. How many of us teens in the 1960s ever identified with tales of World War I, a half-century earlier? Given that same time frame, why should I have expected today’s youth to relate to my generation’s war?

         Six months after my book was published, Ken Burns aired his 10-part, 18-hour documentary, “The Vietnam War.” Caputo and O’Brien were featured in the telecast. At the end of the final episode, O’Brien read from his seminal novel, The Things They Carried.

         As time passes and memories fade, I will continue paying attention to men like O’Brien, Caputo, Butler and Del Vecchio for their service and their sacrifice 50 years and 10,000 miles ago.

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