It is finally time to come to terms with a generation of
underappreciated, now middle-aged men: America's Vietnam veterans.
In many ways they were no different from the men who left for
Europe in 1917, or for Asia and Europe in 1942. They were young,
freshly trained, scared yet determined soldiers. In "Hard Men
Humble, " Jonathan Stevenson introduces us to a fascinating
community of expatriate Vietnam veterans -- the men who wouldn't or
couldn't leave Southeast Asia, and could not leave behind the
people they had fought and defended. Some were military heroes and
remain unalloyed patriots. Some questioned or condemned the war and
find their patriotism forever compromised by it. Some stayed behind
in order to relive the best part of the war with girls, golf, and
Singha beer at smoky saloons. Others were moved to atone for the
war with charity -- educating Thai children, building hospitals for
the Vietnamese, or providing medical care to Laotians they had
befriended when soldiers. Whatever each man's motivation, the one
attribute virtually all expat vets share is the desire to do what
so many Americans don't want them to do: remember the Vietnam War.
"Hard Men Humble" brings a vivid cast of characters to life:
Major Mark Smith, a much bemedaled winner of the Distinguished
Service Cross and former prisoner of war who works out of Bangkok
relentlessly searching for MIAs; Ken Richter, once a Jersey City
tough, who discovered discipline and honor in Special Forces and
who now donates much of his earnings to Southeast Asian charities;
Robert Taylor, a former Green Beret from Alaska who formed a bond
with a Lao tribe with which he worked, and who founded a medical
charity for them; and Greg Kleven, an Oakland-born Force Recon
marine who lost faith in the war and in his country, descended into
dissoluteness and self-destructive drinking, and believes that
moving to Ho Chi Minh City saved his life. The expatriate Vietnam
veterans are, ultimately, just like any other cross section of
Americans: some are heroes, a few are knaves, and others are just
ordinary men trying to make a living. Ironically, the very
dismissal of Vietnam veterans in the United States has driven some
of them to build a life abroad of greater imagination, adventure,
benevolence, and fulfillment than they might have found at home.
Whether or not Americans doubt the wisdom of their larger
historical mission, Vietnam veterans risked their lives to serve
their country. We owe them our gratitude.
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