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How Does One Fight for Peace?
By Andy Berman (reviewer)
[Printer-Friendly Version]
Fighting for Peace: A Vietnam-era Thriller
by Jim Perakis
(Fourth Wall, 2024)
Jim Perakis' new novel, Fighting for Peace: A Vietnam-Era Thriller presents an intriguing view of the developing anti-war consciousness of a US Navy combat veteran with whom today's veterans and civilian peace activists may feel kinship.
This novel is historical fiction. But since the history portrayed, i.e., the US war in Vietnam and the anti-war movement in the US, is relatively recent, the author is challenged by the fact that his reading audience includes veterans and anti-war activists during the times and events portrayed in the book. They will inevitably compare the people and events described in the book with those the reader knows from personal experience.
Many such readers will nod their heads, thinking, "Yes, I remember something like that." Others may think, "No way! That incident in the book is pure fantasy, very much at odds with what I remember."
The main character in the book is a US Navy junior officer, as is the book's author. This suggests that the author is telling a story with at least some basis in his experiences in the US Navy in 1967 and 1968. The protagonist in the book has been in combat and has shot down a Vietnamese fighter jet. After combat, he is having doubts about the US war in Vietnam.
Yes, having doubts fits the reality of the times and the experiences of many veterans. Back at the base, our hero develops a romantic relationship with a female pacifist anti-war activist and begins to work with her peace group. Again, this is a very believable development. I saw it happen at the Haymarket GI coffeehouse outside Fort Bragg in 1971.
There is frustration in our protagonist's anti-war group because the war continues on and on. Some members want to escalate tactics by setting off bombs, thinking that "bringing the war home" could stop the war. This argument was made e.g. by the SDS "Weather Underground" faction in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The main character of the book, our Navy veteran, breaks up with his pacifist lover and participates in placing bombs, always with the intent of destroying only property, trying carefully to avoid killing people.
When some in the group sought to drop that restriction, our Navy vet had had enough! He informs the FBI of an impending bombing that could kill many people. He cuts a deal to avoid prison for his bombing activities and quits the organization. He wanders the streets of lower Manhattan, lonely and depressed.
He ultimately gets involved in the militant, non-violent movement of Vietnam Veterans Against the War. The story has a sweet ending. There is hope for reuniting with the woman who originally stole his heart and set him on the path of anti-war activism.
So, what's wrong here? It's an intense, highly readable, and ultimately sweet story, but not without its faults. How does the book's narrative depart from what really happened? Here are a few ways:
The real FBI worked hard to destroy the anti-war movement despite its overwhelming non-violent orientation. It didn't just go after those few who adopted violence as a tactic.
The book repeats the "Spitting Image" myth, the propaganda that says Vietnam vets returning from the war were spit upon by anti-war activists. This myth was created and disseminated in Hollywood films as a means to justify the US Gulf War of 1990. Its origin and use are well-researched and exposed in Sociology Professor Jerry Lembcke's book Spitting Image. As serious Vietnam anti-war activists know, Vietnam veterans were viewed by the peace movement as victims of the war. They were understood to be the peace movement's natural allies despite the pressure and confusion that sometimes afflicted vets upon their return to the States.
The move to violence by a tiny number of anti-war activists was shunned and rejected by the overall peace community. This is examined and documented in several books, notably those of former SDS activists. Mark Rudd's book Underground is perhaps the best.
Yet despite its faults, reading Fighting for Peace is a joy. Readers who lived during the Vietnam War era should not hesitate to compare their knowledge and experiences with those of the veterans and civilian characters in the book. Doing so is probably inevitable.
Andy Berman, US Army 1971-73, is a retired telecommunications engineer and lifelong peace and justice activist. He blogs at andyberman.blogspot.com
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