A Rumor of War
Philip Caputo
Most of those who went to fight in Vietnam returned home changed in many
subtle and some not-so-subtle ways. A Rumor of War is one man’s
attempt to communicate some of those transformations and their causes.
Caputo wrote this book, which he said was, “simply a story about war,
about the things men do in war and the things war does to them.”
Like most of us in that time, his “splendid little war”, initially conceptualized
as a chivalrous and noble enterprise, quickly (for some and not so quickly
for others) turned into a dehumanized and desensitized bewilderment.
Men, kids really, who had grown up on John Wayne, John Kennedy and
Audie Murphy arrived in Vietnam by the tens of thousands expecting to find
glory, honor and adventure. When those men (no longer kids) left Vietnam
they would never be same physically or emotionally. All they found there
was death, death and more death. Caputo’s vivid images, such as ”pigs
eating napalm-charred human corpses”, force the reader into his story and
attempt to induce some gut-feeling of his war and war in general.
Reading a book, any book, or watching a movie in an attempt to find out
“what war is like” is futile. Nonetheless, A Rumor of War is arguably one of
the most well written accounts of life in the bowels of the beast since All
Quiet On the Western Front.
An Irish ballad by Dominic Behan captures the essence of being young:
*********************************************************
“Come all ye young rebels, and list while I sing,
For the love of one's country is a terrible thing.
It banishes fear with the speed of a flame,
And it makes us all part of the patriot game.”
*********************************************************
Although we tend to stop thinking about war when times are good and the
horrors of war recede into distant memory, there are times (like now) when
we are obligated to remember. A Rumor of War helps to ensure that we
will not forget.
An old young man in a land far away once whispered to me:
“We who die, are dead.
But you who live must remember.
You have no right to forget.”
/tdw/
Philip Caputo
Most of those who went to fight in Vietnam returned home changed in many
subtle and some not-so-subtle ways. A Rumor of War is one man’s
attempt to communicate some of those transformations and their causes.
Caputo wrote this book, which he said was, “simply a story about war,
about the things men do in war and the things war does to them.”
Like most of us in that time, his “splendid little war”, initially conceptualized
as a chivalrous and noble enterprise, quickly (for some and not so quickly
for others) turned into a dehumanized and desensitized bewilderment.
Men, kids really, who had grown up on John Wayne, John Kennedy and
Audie Murphy arrived in Vietnam by the tens of thousands expecting to find
glory, honor and adventure. When those men (no longer kids) left Vietnam
they would never be same physically or emotionally. All they found there
was death, death and more death. Caputo’s vivid images, such as ”pigs
eating napalm-charred human corpses”, force the reader into his story and
attempt to induce some gut-feeling of his war and war in general.
Reading a book, any book, or watching a movie in an attempt to find out
“what war is like” is futile. Nonetheless, A Rumor of War is arguably one of
the most well written accounts of life in the bowels of the beast since All
Quiet On the Western Front.
An Irish ballad by Dominic Behan captures the essence of being young:
*********************************************************
“Come all ye young rebels, and list while I sing,
For the love of one's country is a terrible thing.
It banishes fear with the speed of a flame,
And it makes us all part of the patriot game.”
*********************************************************
Although we tend to stop thinking about war when times are good and the
horrors of war recede into distant memory, there are times (like now) when
we are obligated to remember. A Rumor of War helps to ensure that we
will not forget.
An old young man in a land far away once whispered to me:
“We who die, are dead.
But you who live must remember.
You have no right to forget.”
/tdw/
| Thom's Review A Rumor of War |
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