Wars have dire consequences on both ends of the fighting factions. People who take part in the war come back with scars, those who never make it have their stories told or written about. This paper aims to examine one such book following the life of Brian Wilson on his trails through the Vietnam War in the book, Blood on the Tracks. In the examination of the book, I aim to highlight the challenges he faced through the war and bring about the necessity he deems it for the importance of Americans knowing about their heritage. In support of the claims made will be backed evidence from the book.
Before the war, Wilson had grown up with a rigid father who in his term he says supported what we would later term “terrorist organizations”. Coupled up with the negativity of the World War occurring swayed him into believing his conservative views were a little on the less side. With a parent so set on maintaining that belief made it harder for him to accept his convictions. Adding to the fact he turned to religion to fill the void of understanding he lacked confused his ideals even more (Wilson, 18). His search for truth from people like Sergeant Dicky, made it worse as the opinions generated from the people seemed to differ from what the government depicted to him. Conflicting points of view from people he could trust made it harder for him to form substantial standing acclamations to his conscious views. As he was unable to fully comprehend the extent of most of the happenings with the media reflecting on the positive side of government decisions. The preferential treatment for the individuals enrolling for the war under deferment rules shook his resolve in the government proceedings (Wilson, 26). An internal conflict, however, made his belief to rely solidly upon the government’s ways.
During the time of war, working in the Air Force Wilson became privy to information on government intentions with the war which drained his will to serve in the war. However, as he was technically enlisted and expected to do so he had no other option but to follow in government proceedings. His rank in the war was also standard therefore denying him the opportunity to do anything tangible in changing people’s views about the war. One such instance he quotes General Westmoreland “I hope they try something because we are looking for a fight” (Wilson, 31). He was not supportive of the ideology but being outranked he could not speak against his superior. The reference may have been made vivid in the Mai Li massacre as Wilson experienced the indiscriminate killing of women and children- committed by the U.S army. In trying to speak out, he faced the consequences of prison as shown when he failed a training exercise meant to train how to kill people. The strain of compiling to obedience reduced him to a mere follower such that after the aftermath of the Mai Li massacre he did not consider going back for the injured- to offer treatment in the least.
After the Vietnam War, Wilson suffered bouts of memory flashes that took him back to the Mai Li woman’s village massacre. He had adequately confirmed that whatever the United States army was doing in the War was wrong. In a manner of self-righteousness, he sought to seek reprieve from the army commander to determine whether they knew what had happened, in which he was solely admonished (Wilson, 64). He was suffering from denial to accept his lack of making substantial progress assistance to the Vietnamese. However, his conscious was justifiably in the right decision as he had confirmed through the Mai Li event the repercussions of indiscriminate bombing and attacks on the Vietnamese people. Aid was nonetheless limited as the army leaders and letters to the President had no influential impact. It further impacted his resolve in trying to get the attention of people on the disadvantages of the war. The lack of action being taken to reduce the bombings failed him terribly, as his conscious was eaten away at the possible millions of innocents who got caught in the crossfire. Hardening his heart against the U.S military such that his unjustified removal did not come as a shock for him (Wilson, 70). It only served to make him more of a critic against the biased system of the army.
The patriotic views he had previously before joining the Air Force changed drastically creating new outlooks for him after the war. Before the war, he merely relied on information from the government with no first-hand experience. He justified government decisions believing information fed from the media (Wilson, 21). However, during and after the war he formed new resolved decisions from experiencing the war daily. The indiscriminate bombing and unruly behavior of the army patrons made him change his notions of regulated government decisions. The war afflicted women and children, killing them indiscriminately, most who were caught in the crossfires of trigger happy U.S Army officials. He resolved to believe in the goodness of humanity and stood for the Vietnamese being discriminated against under humanitarian laws. Having the government not change the war policies, instead of covering up the murdered women and children as Viet Cong’s members hardened the fight for him against the government stringent measures. He was standing up for people who did not know him and people his country fought against, implicating a myriad of the selfless act for him as an individual.
Wilson in his research uncovered a big depth of lack of historical knowledge in their history. A first encounter came when he worked as a lobbyist when he discovered the congressional staff had little to no idea of what the bills they voted upon entailed (Wilson, 103). The history preceding the laws was ignored and the major concern lay on what vote they should make. Such progressive behavior he notes, made most of the American rely on information being given by people rather than have due research themselves on the merits. Knowledge was based upon what other people said, the media being a major influence on the people. The people especially the congressional staff members depending on lobbyists to research on their behalf created room for biased information especially with people seeking to create their agendas. He noticed further that the Vietnam War wasn’t the first of the war carried unjustly by Americans (Wilson, 139). The negligence of knowing the previous history was making Americans repeat the same unjust behavior over and over again. Americans in the laxity of knowledge experienced shortcomings. One such incidence he exploited the Winter Olympics in 1980 where the language used in the bill was misappropriated to finance the exiling of Black Americans (Wilson, 104). It is the lack of knowledge of previous historical knowledge on such situations that made Americans fall prey to scheming within the government policies.
The vagueness of American’s on historical knowledge granted them exclusivity on certain matters as indicated by Wilson. One such is the lack of historical events that deigned the corporation of Americans in the Vietnam War. They were participating in a war while undertaking orders with no prior knowledge of occurrences or the people they were retaliating against. Gauging the Americans’ stance against the Mai Li experience haunting of the Vietnam War, he found them lucky and privileged. Holding huge amounts of power, saved most Americans though ignorant of this, from the rage of war that succumbed to most Vietnam villages. Being unaware of the historical knowledge also got American citizens exempted from participating in the decision making of the country (Wilson, 142). Especially in the war times and how most of the war was conducted. Exemption meant they were excluded despite it being a democratic nation. Americans were thus implicitly participating in wars they knew virtually nothing about all in the name of honoring their country, in return of honor of service. Exclusion from information made them compliant in actions that stood against the humanitarian side of view. Making them perpetrators in mundane actions that left scores dead.
The book, Blood on the Tracks has adequately described occurrences during the wars that ravaged the past century. With intricate details from an army officer witnessing the wars brigs new hindsight as to the participation of the United States of America. The fresh point of view analyzes several unknown views that indicate different positions of what the War entailed. It brings more forthcoming knowledge of the U.S participation. Wilson through his descriptions has created chances for scores of people searching to discover more about the war educate themselves. The Vietnam War led to mass destruction that has a lot of individuals nursing the stories told unto them from their forefathers. Such wars have created animosity and often led to the diminishing of more innocent people rather than achieving any substantial-end. Analyzing past mistakes should be made a major interest through which individuals can learn from- majorly through having the historical knowledge of such being made available. With due diligence, such mistakes can thus not be repeated.