The Message From “Fields Of Fire”

Rights and responsibilities. These are the themes of James Webb’s book, “Fields of Fire.”

Webb was a platoon commander during the Vietnam War. His book is required reading for all Marines. It details the struggles of a Marine platoon throughout that war from a participant’s perspective. Webb has said the book is a fictional account based upon his experiences during that war.

Although the book focuses upon a cast of characters, one of the most interesting is about a Marine nicknamed “Senator” who was attending Harvard when he was drafted. Most of his Harvard classmates evaded the draft by way of medical waivers, draft deferments and even fleeing to Canada…but not Senator. He serves with bravery and honor, eventually wounded in combat and sent back home.

Convalescing at his house, he is visited by one of his Harvard classmates who is a fugitive from the law for having evaded the draft. The meeting is poignant in that his friend is healthy and seems to have made the right decision while Senator, in bed, seems forever scarred by the war. The meeting ends with the police showing up as the Senator’s father has called the police to report his friend’s location..

Senator is stunned by his father’s actions and gets into a lengthy conversation with him about why he called the police. His father was no fan of the war and is greatly saddened by what has happened to his son. However, he is none-the-less honored by his son’s sacrifice. He is also repulsed by the friend’s cowardice.

The father explains to his son, “We all have rights and responsibilities. By being born here in the U.S., many citizens have benefited by the sacrifices our forefathers have made. The liberties and freedoms all Americans enjoy have been paid for by those sacrifices. Your friend was willing to enjoy all of the benefits of society without bearing the responsibilities.”

“If your friend was so against the war, he should have protested and gone to jail for his beliefs. If more Americans had done this instead of fleeing, the politicians might have gotten a better sense of the growing discontent for the war and ended it. But your friend was a coward. He was even unwilling to commit the smallest act of disobedience. He fled like a child.”

In the 1960’s, two of the most iconic heavyweight fighters of all time, Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali, were both called up for the draft during their athletic prime. Both served and honored their country in different ways. Frazier joined the Army and went to Vietnam while Ali went to jail as a conscious objector, claiming that killing people violated his religious beliefs. Although the military brass was unhappy with Ali, they never treated him with contempt. They respected what he did. Having served in the Marines, I can tell you that there is complete disdain for people who avoided the draft and fled the country; however, I never once heard a criticism of the stand which Ali took.

I have witnessed firsthand the struggles conscious objectors have to war. My radioman during the First Gulf War was a Jehovah’s Witness who struggled deeply with the decision that he made in going to war. For him, it was a daily struggle to reconcile his faith with his participation in the war. So, I can relate in some small way to that with which Ali struggled.

In retrospect, I think the consensus about the Vietnam War was that it was a wasted effort. There are many historical documents that detail the mistakes made by the U.S. and the tremendous loss of life suffered on both sides. Many Americans lost their lives and many more were left permanently disabled, from which they never recovered. However, at the time, U.S. leaders felt that Vietnam was an important stand to take in order to stop the spread of Communism. Some have discounted that notion, but in Asia it is affirmed.

In the book Asia Rising, the last thirty pages recount various Asian leaders’ views of the potential for Asia and its significance within the global economy. What startled me most was the praise given to the U.S. for its initiative in going into Vietnam thirty years earlier. They said the threat of Communism was real and engulfing all of Asia. Had the U.S. not decided to engage in Vietnam, many of those leaders felt that most of Asia would have fallen, resulting in the enslavement of millions. I was blown away…as this was the first time I had ever seen documentation from an Asian perspective regarding the threat.

The book goes on to say that U.S. intervention did, in fact, halt the Communist initiative by tying up all their resources in Vietnam which precluded further expansion. The actions of our military saved the life of millions. For many Asians, the sacrifices made by the U.S. soliders was not in vain.

The unfortunate outcome of the Vietnam War here in the U.S. was a breakdown of social order. It has been well documented that the political leaders lied to the American public during the conflict and it left the citizenry skeptical of the government. In many ways, this was the beginning of the decline of our confidence in governmental institutions. It made people less inclined to make the kind of sacrifices for the country that they had made previously. The recent Benghazi tragedy, where Americans were left defenseless and unsupported by the government despite repeated requests for assistance during a thirteen hour attack, only continues to fuel this mistrust and cynicism.

The decline of confidence in American institutions has led to an epidemic of abdicating personal responsibility by a nation once willing to assume it. This comes in tandem with a trend toward narcissism, as evidenced by the Selfie generation. Absent leadership with integrity, and a populace engaged in shared sacrifice, the future is bleak. The actions it took to secure freedom were accomplished with great effort over time. Relinquishing that same freedom, through inaction, will be an easier and more rapid undoing.

Steve

sleeclark@gmail.com

Summary