I want to express my deep appreciation for Dave Kindy’s wonderful piece describing how Russell Jacobson’s family learned about Russell’s bravery as a Marine medic in Vietnam, and what that knowledge meant to them. The timing of the piece is perfect, of course, as (some) Americans pause to reflect on the meaning of Memorial Day.
Reading the story ignited in me memories of my own conflicted service in Vietnam. Despite the fact that I opposed the war as being both morally and strategically wrong, once I was drafted I nevertheless reported for service. The reasons behind my decision to report are too complicated to try to describe here, and one that has haunted me over the years. But once in and assigned to the Army’s 1st Infantry Division, I tried to serve with honor. Service for many of us meant helping our fellow soldiers return to the US alive.
Among my most vivid and lasting memories was being awakened in the middle of the night by a nearby explosion and screams for help. The tent in which our medics slept had been hit by a Viet Cong rocket. I was able to get there in time to help the injured sergeant, who was in charge of the small medical unit, escape from their collapsed and burning tent. Drawing on my training, I did my best to control bleeding from shrapnel wounds he had suffered to his left side, particularly to his head and forearm. He made it, but one of his fellow medics bled out and died that night. Our company always honored medics as a special breed and we mourned his death with a deep sense of personal loss.
Perhaps in part because of my deployment in Vietnam, I react badly to the loud, jingoistic, flag waving glorification of war and to using war as a tool to whip up hyper-patriotic feelings of nationalism. Particularly on Memorial Day. Memorial Day, I believe, should be a day set aside to remember and reflect on the sacrifices and losses of young men and women serving in our armed forces, to try to empathize with the complex feelings and fears they experience, and to reflect on the horror and stupidity of war itself. It should be a day when we reflect on and honor the brave service and quiet humility of people like Russell Jacobson – a medic – and to rededicate ourselves to a future without war.
– Peter Matlon