Hero Worship

ROBERT W. MERRY

If one measure of a nation is its capacity to produce heroes, a greater measure is how it treats them. That men of uncommon heroism emerged from the Vietnam War is attested by this disturbing yet inspiring narrative of those harsh, gloomy, painful years when America’s forgotten soldiers faced the lonely test of patriotism in a foreign hell. That so many of them passed the test is something of a tribute to their country as well as to themselves. And the POWs’ performance is all the more impressive when it is remembered that so many of them not only defied isolation, pain, and suffering in the name of their country, but did so while half the country was mocking the ideals they struggled to uphold. That is the profound dichotomy of the Vietnam experience, and it had tragic impact on the lives of many Americans.

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Robert Merry

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ROBERT W. MERRY

If one measure of a nation is its capacity to produce heroes, a greater measure is how it treats them. That men of uncommon heroism emerged from the Vietnam War is attested by this disturbing yet inspiring narrative of those harsh, gloomy, painful years when America’s forgotten soldiers faced the lonely test of patriotism in a foreign hell. That so many of them passed the test is something of a tribute to their country as well as to themselves. And the POWs’ performance is all the more impressive when it is remembered that so many of them not only defied isolation, pain, and suffering in the name of their country, but did so while half the country was mocking the ideals they struggled to uphold. That is the profound dichotomy of the Vietnam experience, and it had tragic impact on the lives of many Americans.