Authors discuss legacy of Vietnam War at Baker Institute

By Mengjia Liu     9/16/15 4:03pm

Four award-winning authors who served in the Vietnam War examined the lasting legacy of the war by reading excerpts from their works and by participating in a panel discussion at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy on Sept. 10. The authors included Philip Caputo, Larry Heinemann, Tim O’Brien and Tobias Wolff.

According to Heinemann, an interesting consequence of the war was the proliferation of veterans who became writers, poets or scholars.

“It is a remarkable irony of the war that I became a writer,” Heinemann said. “If it hadn't been for my war years, I'd be driving a bus like my old man. This irony is something that I share with a number of other Vietnam veterans who came home.”

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Wolff said joining the war seemed like a natural path to follow because he grew up in a working-class environment surrounded by veterans.

“You saw it as an opportunity to distinguish yourself, but it wasn't my motive when I went in,” Wolff said. “I enlisted when I was 18 largely because I pretty much screwed up my life at that point. I didn't have a high school diploma, and I didn't have any prospects.”

On the other hand, Heinemann said he reluctantly joined the war because he was drafted.

“I was distinctly not interested in being in the army,” Heinemann said. “The harassment we were treated to offended me.”

Caputo, who served for a time as a casualty reporting officer, said his worst experience on the job was having to identify the body and report the death of his best friend, Lieutenant Walter Levy.

“His death affected me very deeply and does to this day,” Caputo said. “Not too long ago, I was at a reunion in Washington, and I went to the wall and saw Walt's name there, and 40-some years after the event I just started bawling like a child.”

When asked if he would partake in the war again, O’Brien said he views the war as an evil, but is unsure of his own response.

“It was sinful,” O’Brien said. “We were killing people. Veterans are too often looked upon as victims, but we are participants. I wouldn't participate again, but until you are in the circumstances, you really don't know.”

According to O’Brien, the years following Vietnam have shown how the driving forces behind wars can be misleading.

“Wars are always sold to us as pending catastrophes,” O’Brien said. “If we don't go kill people, horrible things will ensue. We lost the war. Where is the catastrophe? We have shirts that are made in Vietnam.”

Emily Rao, an event attendee, said she appreciated hearing the speakers share their different perspectives.

“The four authors had four very distinct styles and were unsettlingly honest about their experiences, and I just feel lucky to have heard them speak,” Rao, a Baker College sophomore, said.  

Dean of the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business William Glick said the event was meant not only to observe the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War but also to recognize the growing number of veterans at Rice University.

“Together with the Jones School, we have set a goal of being the most veteran-friendly MBA program,” Glick said. “The veterans have taken on tremendous leadership roles within the student body and have gone on to be highly valued graduates. They enrich Rice. They enrich Houston and the broader community.”

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