John Steinbeck,Writer by Jackson Benson
I'd like to look at just one aspect of this book alongside UNFIT FOR COMMAND. One can connect the dots. Steinbeck spent time in Vietnam as a reporter for Newsday
magazine. Steinbeck spent at least six weeks in Vietnam. He also visited Thailand and Laos. I think his overall stay in Southeast Asia was about three to four months.
Steinbeck had a completely different view of the American soldier in Vietnam than Kerry (the Kerry of 1971). Kerry portrayed the American soldiers as barbarians. Steinbeck had a high regard for the soldier, though he had doubts about our policy. He was offended by two misperceptions of the war: 1) that the American soldier was brutal, and 2) that the Viet Cong had the support of the people. Steinbeck viewed the Viet Cong as thugs. An associate said that whenever an incident which reflected badly on the Americans occured, reporters were all over the place; but when an attrocity was committed by the Viet Cong, no reporters were to be found. Steinbeck sent several pictures back home, but the news media would not print the pictures.
This is a thick book. You can purchase it at left, though you may want to browse the book (available at Barnes and Noble for $25). Anyways, pay attention to Chapter L, which I think is located around page 1000 (depending on the edition). This covers much of Steinbeck's time in Vietnam. As Steinbeck noted, in Vietnam the people fled from North to South not vice versa. This chapter makes for informative reading. I think Steinbeck did a more extensive job of investigating Vietnam and Southeast Asia than Kerry. But read the chapter for yourself.
I think the contrast between Steinbeck and Kerry is a powerful one. Steinbeck, (who died in 1968) was NOT a Conservative Republican, but I think he would be highly offended by Kerry's portrayal of the Vietnam veterans and the way he's using them today had he lived.
# posted by GuyTak @ 4:31 AM
