The Big Picture and the Closeup

Lennon’s voice comes across as exhausted by sadness. And it speaks to me because that’s how I feel after this close encounter. I could have been a war casualty; I’m not, thank God. But I tell myself I must never forget what it felt like nearly to have been one. And I never do.

Neither Richard Blumenthal nor any of the rest of us, be we combat vets, reservists, war protesters, or draft dodgers, should be ashamed to speak from our experiences of the Vietnam War. Everyone has something valuable to share.