Bad news for some of you. We are taking a one day break from Nixon and China. [Somehow I doubt that it is bad news for many of you.]
I saw a show last night that portrayed a reality that many non-soldiers have trouble understanding. The show portrayed an encounter between an American veteran of Guadacanal and Iwo Jima and a Japanese veteran of Guadacanal. It paralleled encounters that have already been reported between American veterans of Viet Nam and North Vietnamese and Viet Cong veterans of the conflict in Viet Nam. Many have problems understanding how people who had been trying to kill each other could come together to reconcile. And that is because we do not understand soldiers and honor.
Not even having been a member of the Armed Forces, and having been through two revolutions do I think I can explain it. No, I was never in Viet Nam. But, I have been shot at in a time of revolution. And, I have been tear gassed during a second revolution. And, I have been called before a foreign official and asked to reveal the names of all the American citizens in a particular city. And, yet, part of me would like to have met the soldier who shot at me and the policemen who lobbed the tear gas, and even the colonel who wanted me to give over the names of all the American citizens.
You see, each of us was trying to serve honorably at the time of at least some of the events. (I was a child when I was shot at.) We were doing what we believed was right. We were putting our life or our liberty on the line. The colonel who asked me to give him the names was serving during a time of terrorist activity and surely had many good reasons for trying to make sure that his country was not overrun by terrorists. But, I had been given that list in confidence and was not fully sure of the reasons for which the colonel wanted the list. One of us was trying to protect his country from communist rebels; the other of us was trying to protect his country (USA) from a possible inappropriate revelations. You see, in that conflict, even those who were on the “right” side began to use tactics that were immoral and illegal.
So, why would I even want to meet that colonel again? Because each of us was trying to do what was right and proper by his country. And, it is all too tempting to begin to use inappropriate tactics when one is protecting one’s own country. Each of us loved his country and each of us was trying to ensure that his country was protected. Sometimes, the line is very thin between doing what is right and between doing what one believes is necessary to protect something one loves. And, sometimes, despite the best intentions, it is all too easy to cross that line.
So, why would old soldiers want to get together? To find a measure of forgiveness, a measure of redemption, a reassurance that each one was doing what he believed to be best at the time. And to honor his fellow who was faithfully serving as best he knew how to serve.
But I must say that when I was in Germany in the 60’s, every German male of an age to have been in the military during WWII proclaimed that he had fought the Russians. So many people I met and none of them fought the Americans or the British–all of them fought the Russians–of course, this was in the middle of the cold war and Germany was still divided……interesting, though
Yes, it took a few years in every conflict. And, as you pointed out, Russia was the evil behemoth next door, whereas in both Japan and Viet Nam there was a different dynamic.