When I Was a Young Man

Just as Senator Bob Kerry was was cotemplating a run for the presidency back in the '90s, I can recall hearing news reports of his alleged "war atrocities". The eyewitnesses come forward and before you knew it, the story has created enough controversey for Mr. Kerrey to slowly fade from the presidential race. Thus the swift boating begins. Round One goes to the chickenhawk neacons. Fast forward a few years and the same S.O.P is employed to Max Clelland, John McCain, and John Kerry. Forget about that Bush, Rove, Rummsfeld, Wolfiwitz, Cheney, Phife, Pearl, etc. never served ONE HOUR in a hostile environment. The important thing is what men who were 'in country" did while they were there. I think it's called deflection. There was a time when fighting for your your country was a noble thing. Now, those who didn't serve during war have no other defense but to smear those who did.

Senator Bob Kerrey's memoir, "When I Was a Young Man", was written with a number of purposes in mind. At the time of the book's release, Senator Kerrey was entertaining presidential aspirations and, while Kerrey does not admit to this, "When I Was a Young Man" is another in a long line of political memoirs released to coincide with higher political ambitions. The greater purpose, though, stated by Kerrey and obvious from reading this book, is to bring perspective to the Vietnam War and, in particular, an incident where Kerrey is today being unjustly attacked as a war criminal. Kerrey was, without a doubt, the accidental soldier and the accidental war hero. All Kerrey wished to do was live a simple life in Nebraska and work towards becoming a pharmacist. The Vietnam War and prospect of being drafted led Kerrey opting, instead to go to Navy Officer Candidate School and accepting an offer to join the Navy Seals. While not truly understanding the purpose of the war or the growing national resentment towards, Kerrey set out to perform his duty to the best of his abilities. This led to the two most significant moments in his life. The first is the one he is being skewered for today. During a mission that turned out to be an abject failure, Kerrey's squad got trapped in a firefight in a Vietnamese village in which numerous women and children were killed. Kerrey doesn't shy away from the burden of responsibility. He fully accepts it, but in reading his description of what happened, it becomes clear to the reader that the actions of modern-day revisionists to group Kerrey with people like Lieutenant William Calley is criminal. The second significant moment is the one for which Kerrey was awarded the highest military honor, the Congressional Medal of Honor. By Kerrey's own admission, however, he is still not certain why he received it. His actions in another engagement, which cost him part of one leg, may have very well saved the lives of many of his men. Kerrey spends little time talking about the mission, itself. It leaves the reader confused as to what actually happened that got Kerrey the Medal of Honor. I feel that may be intentional because it seems that Kerrey, himself, is confused as to what actually happened that night, too. He does not personally feel worthy of the award, but is persuaded to accept, if only to honor those he served with. The juxtaposition of war criminal with war hero is both fascinating and telling. Kerrey's own personal saga probably more than anything else encompasses the mess that was the Vietnam War. He is not that callous war criminal that some would make him out to be, nor does he feel that he is a hero that official record claims him as. He is somewhere in between. He is a flawed man who wanted nothing more than to do his duty and serve his country. The horror of this tragic war put in the most unenviable of situations. There is no greater metaphor for what the Vietnam War was than "When I Was a

It is almost heartbreaking the way people on both the left and the right have torn apart this book in customer reviews. Although I think it merits probably 4 1/2 stars, I think Bob Kerrey has told an excellent story. Furthermore, he is honest, forthright, and writes in a readable workmanlike prose style. As one of the other favorable reviewers mentioned, Kerrey cannot win. But, as far as I can tell, isn't this the way we've always treated Vietnam veterans? From the "fever swamps" on the far left, we have outrageous charges of war crimes. If some of these folks had their way, all Vietnam veterans would be put to trial. The circumstances for Kerrey were so murky, frightening, and potentially deadly in his first fire-fight, that the outcome is not altogether surprising. On the right-wing, we have the criticisms about his current opposition to the war, even though he was a willing conscript in the late 1960s. As far as I can tell, if you do not believe in the politics of the right-wing these days, even if you are patriotic, love your country, and would fight to the death for it, your are labeled, more or less, a traitor. The middle ground, where good, centrist men and women are most likely to fall, is a vast swath of America, to which this book undoubtable appeals. I just wish more of them would write customer reviews. I graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1995, and am proud to be a fellow alumni with Mr. Kerrey.

My primary reaction to this book was that it was exceptionally honest and that the missing details that seem to bother so many folks is a part of the reality of having served in combat. I noticed many similarities to my own life and how I have had to deal with what happened through that "Nam" experience. I have written about some aspects of my own experience and I find that the author deals with every one of those issues. The ambivalence of receiving medals for one's performance in combat is a very complex situation. This isn't a question of humility but rather one of truth. What did I do when I encountered such an unatural ordeal such as combat. The author refers to Camus' novel "The Fall". How true it is as young man trying to determine who you are and how you got there especially in light of this combat experience. Much has been written by better writers about their experiences but I think this author raises more issues honestly than has been written. The pull between the pride of having served and put your life on the line in a thankless situation and the overall shame of having to actually do some of the things that you were called on to do is frightening and unexplicable. The fact that that is an underlying theme throughout the book tells me this author is not hiding anything. The reality of war for young idealistic men can be fatal in more ways than one. The survivors know this to be true. I do not know if Bob Kerrey will write again about this experience, but my hunch is that he will and ought to even if it does not get published. Many of us cannot escape that part of our lives no matter how many years have passed. The author seems to have done extremely well on the surface but down deep he is like many of our generation deeply troubled by his experience.For those who don't get that out of this book, I don't think trying to explain it will help them. This is a good book and belongs with the Tim O' Briens and Phil Caputos. It helps us to understand more clearly just what went on in the 60's and where we have come since.

I thought this was a very interesting account of the experiences of a seemingly average midwestern young man through the horrors of what was Vietnam. Unlike another reviewer below, I thought Kerrey was very forthcoming about his experience. He may not have gone into as much detail about what actually occurred, but was very honest about the psychological impact that the events had on his life. I highly recommend this book.