“Growing old is a privilege, not a right.”
17 Bookers met at the home of Jean McSpadden to discuss this month’s selection which met all the criteria for a Bookers’ book – well written and fostered discussion. The committee hit a home run with this one! Ann Ireland was in the house – seems impossible to keep her down. Bonnie Magee, in her role as Food & Beverage Czar, will be sending an email regarding our needs for our December/Christmas Bookers meeting – stay tuned.
The author says he did not set out to write a book about Vietnam, but a book about that critical moment in every boy’s life when he goes from being a boy to a man. He believes a writer should write what interests you…he remembered the images on television and the protestors – Vietnam interested him, and he did work with two veterans one summer on a construction crew – these men no longer trusted the promise of a future. Dugoni’s characters were sketched in ink during this summer tutorial on roofing and pouring concrete which evolved into this masterful testament to his writing prowess.
A pink box labeled white tennis shoes was stacked alongside a lifetime of photos and inside a treasure trove of letters home – one of the first dated July 1967 from this twenty-three-year-old recent college graduate who was only four months on a new job and now was enjoying basic training in the tropical paradise known as Ft. Polk, Louisiana. From Tan Son Nhat Air Base near Saigon, he wrote “it’s the safest place in Vietnam…surrounded by our Air Force…and so far, what I’ve seen compares to a border town in Mexico – and I don’t mean Juarez – double the filth and stupidity and you’ve got what we have in Nam.” In a Christmas letter he wrote, “Looks like the Cowboys really blew it, but when I heard it on the radio, it didn’t really affect me one way or the other…it just seems so unimportant whether they win or lose.” And in another one, “When I get home and bitch or gripe about anything…just stop me and ask me to remember where I was last year - that should shut me up in a hurry! It’s really hard to appreciate the small things when you have them every day, but after being here they really start to add up.”
This pink box holds every letter my hubby sent to his parents from his deployment. They all closed with how many days were left before he came home. He was one of the fortunate ones – he did make it home in June 1969. One Booker asked if he had read this book….no and most likely will not…wondered how people who have been through the issue.
In The World Played Chess, we are given a bird’s eye view of one of America’s most unpopular and polarizing wars in modern history pitting the Communist government of North Vietnam and its allies in South Vietnam, aka the Viet Cong, against the government of South Vietnam and its primary ally, the United States. He dropped us inside the foxholes protected by concertina wire with the enemy lurking a few feet away, shared the stories of innocence stripped, and resolve questioned in a war where young men and women were sent halfway around the world to fight a political theory – Communism.
A brief recap of the Vietnam war:
This conflict ranks second in length (19.4 years) only to the Afghanistan war (19.9 years.) In March of 1947 President Harry Truman stated our foreign policy was to assist any country whose stability was threatened by Communism. The first U.S. soldiers were killed in South Vietnam when guerillas raided their living quarters near Saigon in 1959. The early 60s brought helicopters, Green Berets, secret operations against the enemy, and our aircraft spraying Agent Orange over rural areas to kill vegetation that might offer cover and food for guerrilla forces. 1964 brought our first U.S. airman to be taken prisoner by North Vietnam prompting a response from Congress authorizing the President to take all necessary measures against any aggressor in the conflict which led to escalation of troop deployments (500,000 in 1967) and the institution of the first draft lottery since WWII in 1969 prompting protests at home and record numbers of young men fleeing to Canada to avoid serving. This was the first “media” war where all the John Wayne feel good war movies flew out the window. The gradual withdrawal from Vietnam placed more burden on the ground forces of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam reducing our numbers to 69,000 in 1972. But when this effort failed, President Nixon signed the Paris Peace Accords ending direct U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War in January 1973. Saigon fell to Communist forces and the government of South Vietnam surrendered in April 1975 – the North and South formally unifying under hardline Communist rule.
The death toll: 58,200 Americans lost their lives, 1.1 million North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters were killed, 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers died, and more than 2 million civilians were killed on both sides of the war.
The lessons shared by William Goodman to Vincent (Vincenzo) Bianco echoed the realities he experienced as a young man in the midst of a war. William would fill the blank pages of Vincent’s life journal with stories, nightmares, and wisdom that he would take along on his journey into adulthood and to his role as a father. The clarity, the acumen and insightfulness William shared with Vincent made a profound statement to the fragility of life with a nod to the human spirit regardless of age and camaraderie of those forced into similar and often unspeakable situations. William’s war story detailed what was required to survive.
Three stories – three timeframes – three eighteen-year-old men – each one relatable to the other as Dugoni wove a multi-layered coming-of-age story into all three scenarios. We met William the war veteran in 1967 a man who spent a lifetime getting to know himself; Vincent a recent high school graduate in 1979 experiencing his last taste of innocence and first taste of real life; and Vincent the father in 2015 whose own son high-schooler, Beau, had to learn how to survive without his best friend and his parents – to find out if he could stand on his own two feet – it was time Vincent had to let him “find the man he would become.”
Our discussion:
The title is a takeoff on the old saying, “You are playing checkers while they are playing chess” meaning you are playing a simpler game while the world is involved in a strategic, complicated game. A perfect analogy for the Vietnam conflict – and most likely every other war. The setting would have been perfect if only a chess set had been on display…you had to be there to catch this inside joke. We talked about whether this novel would be appropriate for a high school senior to listen to on a long road trip with his parents – the life lessons being the draw although the Vietnam experience might be a little difficult. We discussed the racial slurs used by those in command and although they had to be difficult to endure, the goal was to desensitize the recruits so they would be able to kill another human being. It was also pointed out that the minimization of bad language was refreshing…so many books feel the need to drop those “bombs” unnecessarily. The storylines – Vietnam, William, and William with Vincent – drew us into their worlds with keen visualizations and vivid descriptions dropping us in the shoes and situations experienced by the characters with the backdrop of Vietnam. The scene describing the sister on the phone with the long cord took some back to our youth – before cellphones and social media. Teenage William was thrust into a situation where no life experiences helped him cope – his character likely a composite of what many Marines and other service personnel experienced in a war they didn’t know how to win. And the interactions between William and Vincent served two purposes – William needed someone to talk to and Vincent was open and non-judgmental listening to the “war stories.” We talked about the difference of how William and Vincent viewed their “accomplishments…one tossing them, the other not ready to let go of his life. We discussed the return home for the Vietnam veterans as William said, “they looked at me the way the people in the villages did…like I was a rapid dog that would bite.” KK shared her remembrances of being 21, a flight attendant, greeting “boys” on their way home. “They were like little mice – no interactions with anyone, as if beaten down. They often had delays to bring the other soldiers home too – these in coffins.” She recalled years later their pilots that had been drafted were back on the line after their stay at the Hanoi Hilton and they would have debriefing (aka drinking) sessions which would open the much-needed conversational doors. We now have a new word for Happy Hour. Our new member and war veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq, Kellie Brisse, shared her story and personal struggles from her military service identifying with the blackholes of PTSD and the trauma associated with this debilitating disease. She has a friend who has written a terrific memoir, Tap Code by Colonel Carlyle “Smitty” Harris (Amazon: B07T9XPRD9) told in alternating chapters between him and his wife, Louise, as they share a riveting true story of ingenuity under pressure, strength, and dignity in the face of the enemy, the love of family, and the hope, faith, and resolve necessary to endure even the darkest circumstances. It was a difficult read for Kellie, but she persevered, and we all appreciated her candid remarks and insights. Jean Alexander recalled a trip to Vietnam where they had a South Vietnamese guide who loved Americans, and a North Vietnamese one who only tolerated them. Their “war memorial” is The War of American Aggression Museum. Says tons! We talked about William’s reckless pursuit of the lady in the BMW – today he would have been shot but he was determined to teach her a lesson – one that might save her life. That lesson was the reason Vincent backed down from a fight with a young man in the convenience store – William might have been whispering in his ear. Loss of faith is a theme in the novel – some stopped believing because HE was not there when they needed him – how could anyone allow this death and destruction to happen. Vincent told his son he was a true believer after witnessing the birth of his children, “There has to be a God to make something so beautiful to give to me and your mother.” We discussed the ending with the revelation of what really happened and why William felt such guilt. He was responsible for Victor Cruz’s death – but not in the way he told Vincent. He fired his weapon at what he thought was a Mama-san working in the rice paddy. Instead, he killed a young boy. William says, “I see his face every day – he has a right because I took his life and he’s taking mine.”
After Vincent reads the “real version” he tries to find William tracking him down only to find a real estate agent closing his home. The agent said William had given her an envelope addressed to Vincenzo to mail after the house sold. Vincent read it on the porch…William was going to see the U.S. in his RV; he wanted to live because he owed it to Cruz and all the others who didn’t make it home; he wished he had kept his medals to show his grandkids; that little boy he killed had become his moral compass – his conscience – he had learned how to turn a foe into a friend and had been helping other veterans find their way out of the dark; he was following the 12 step program. Vincent hoped to track him down and maybe someday he could fulfill both of their dreams of being a writer…maybe! As close to a happy ending as possible given the storyline.
One question we’d like for the author to answer, “What did life have in store for Beau?”
On the business side:
Keep your eyes open for an email from Bonnie regarding our fare for the December meeting. As always, your generosity is much appreciated.
The list of upcoming books, host homes, etc…is attached.
From Robert Dugoni on The Vietnam Veterans Memorial:
“Run your hand over the names etched – try to remember they are more than just letters – each one represents real people who lost their lives far too young – their deaths changing the landscapes of families, the country, and the world”
Happy Reading,
JoDee
