Who Knew - Part II:For Holley
WHO KNEW…
you’d earn the Silver Star
trading your life for a man you couldn’t save and a medal you’d never see.
The men said you were their hero because your life was enlightening,
your sense of humor wicked and your dedication unwavering.
They were so proud of you and as far as they were concerned
it should have been the Medal of Honor.
With all their hearts they love you still
but even that can’t bring you back.
--dedicated to Harry “Doc” Bowman and the men with him
1st Marine Division, 3/5, Mike Company
Thua Thien Province at Hai Van Pass ©
posted by mightypen @ 10:40 PM
1 Comments:
My point in writing this book was to introduce the reader to a little-known program considered important enough to the morale of the troops to be
created over sixty years ago by an Act of Congress. I wrote about the "everyday" of war, from diving toward the runway to avoid enemy fire and
discovering the flavor of the air of SouthEast Asia to overcoming the depression brought about by monsoons, the importance of perfume, Twister,a cat's life on base, talking on the phone, body bags, contour flying, old college friends, hot running water, Dear Johns, cookie crumbs, Playboy centerfolds, hospital visits and coming home.
It is my hope that those who read it (takes one hour.......the first time) will find relevancy for a whole generation, even opening an intergenerational connection. A WWII vet called me to say he couldn't read it. I asked if he needed a larger font but that wasn't the problem. The book conjured memories and his tears clouded his eyes. A war protester of the 60's read it and said, "Your book made things so clear. You didn't judge; you just reported." My readers have been veterans of WWII, Korea,Vietnam, Granada, Bosnia, Desert Storm, Afghanistan and Iraq. They have
been relatives to veterans. And they have had no connection at all.
Based on their comments I'm inclined to think it's less a book and more a prism, one that's encouraging discourse. My position can best be summed up
on the book's last page: "Who Knew....in a land culturally and geographically foreign to anything we'd ever known we'd find they'd be just like us. Pogo said that too."
It is my position, my hope, that we will use FIRST what we always come around to after the death and destruction.....language....conversation. Can a simple memoir start that conversation? Why not?....for it is in language that we are healed and I am all for the possibilities of healing!
Holley
Post a Comment
<< Home