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Summary
Summary
Two brothers -- Chuck and Tom Hagel -- who went to war in Vietnam, fought in the same unit, and saved each other's life. They disagreed about the war, but they fought it together.
1968. America was divided. Flag-draped caskets came home by the thousands. Riots ravaged our cities. Assassins shot our political leaders. Black fought white, young fought old, fathers fought sons. And it was the year that two brothers from Nebraska went to war.
In Vietnam, Chuck and Tom Hagel served side by side in the same rifle platoon. Together they fought in the Mekong Delta, battled snipers in Saigon, chased the enemy through the jungle, and each saved the other's life under fire. But when their one-year tour was over, these two brothers came home side-by-side but no longer in step -- one supporting the war, the other hating it.
Former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and his brother Tom epitomized the best, and withstood the worst, of the most tumultuous, shocking, and consequential year in the last half-century. Following the brothers' paths from the prairie heartland through a war on the far side of the world and back to a divided America, Our Year of War tells the story of two brothers at war -- a gritty, poignant, and resonant story of a family and a nation divided yet still united.
Author Notes
Daniel P. Bolger served in the US Army for thirty-five years, retiring as a lieutenant general. He commanded troops in both Afghanistan and Iraq, earning five Bronze Star medals (one for valor) and the Combat Action Badge. He is the author of eight previous books and a contributing editor for Army magazine. He lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Reviews (2)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Bolger, a retired Army lieutenant general, shares a little-known Vietnam War tale as he recounts the internecine battles of the Hagel brothers, Chuck and Tom. These two brothers from Nebraska served together in the 9th Infantry Division, helped each other survive heavy combat, and fought each other over the war after they came home. Chuck was a strong supporter of the war and went on to become a U.S. senator from Nebraska (1997-2009) and a secretary of defense (2013-2015) in the Obama Administration. His younger brother Tom, however, adamantly turned against the war in 1968 and went on to teach at Dayton University School of Law from 1982 to 2015. Tom believed the war was immoral and felt shame for having fought in it. Bolger ably sketches the brothers' prewar and wartime lives, mixing in his own history and analysis of the war. For instance, he criticizes commanding Gen. William Westmoreland's misguided strategy of attrition, disdain for counterinsurgency measures, and inability to grasp the ramifications of the war's turning point-the 1968 Tet Offensive, which took place when the Hagels were fighting. Bolger's story of the two Hagel brothers shows how even close family members became alienated from each other by the war in Vietnam. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Library Journal Review
This dual biography follows brothers Chuck and Tom Hagel as they serve in the same rifle platoon during the height of the Vietnam War. By the end of their service, they have earned five purple hearts between them, their experience propelling them in very different directions. Tom became a law professor, while Chuck found success as a Nebraska senator and secretary of defense in the Obama administration. In this account, Bolger (Why We Lost) gives an overview of the trials the young brothers faced in Vietnam. The richness of anecdotes about the conflict is tempered by a look at contemporary sociopolitical events. And while the raw description of a soldier's life will appeal to readers of military history, the details of the 1968 elections and social unrest in America may feel out of place. VERDICT This book attempts to put the wartime experience of two brothers in a larger context, but the cultural history sometimes overwhelms the personal story. For readers interested in a new perspective of Vietnam.-John Rodzvilla, Emerson Coll., Boston © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| List of Maps | p. ix |
| Preface | p. xi |
| Prologue: Light | p. 1 |
| 1 The Hole in the Prairie | p. 13 |
| 2 This Man's Army | p. 36 |
| 3 Widows Village | p. 60 |
| 4 The Butcher of the Delta | p. 88 |
| 5 Blast | p. 113 |
| 6 Killshots | p. 136 |
| 7 Heat | p. 154 |
| 8 The River Blindness | p. 180 |
| 9 Constant Pressure | p. 204 |
| 10 Children of Nyx | p. 224 |
| 11 Ashes | p. 247 |
| Epilogue: The Old Sergeant | p. 265 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 269 |
| Notes | p. 271 |
| Index | p. 319 |