Our Year of War

September 15, 2017
A crisp account of a messy war, focusing on two Nebraska brothers, one of whom would later become a senator and Secretary of Defense.Chuck Hagel supported the Vietnam War even before he enlisted, and his younger brother Tom had his reservations, which turned into outright opposition from his battle-scarred experiences. Yet the two fought beside each other even as the war deepened into an unwinnable quagmire. Bolger (Why We Lost: A General's Inside Account of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, 2014, etc.), who won five Bronze Stars during his Army career, brings a unique perspective to the story, as he understands the intricacies of modern warfare and also acknowledges the wide gap between those who fight these wars and those who lead them. He maintains a tight, precise focus on the military campaigns in Vietnam while providing context from back home as anti-war efforts intensified. From the start, Chuck was a natural leader, excelling at whatever he attempted, and he fit well within the military culture--as did Tom, at least at the start, though he wasn't quite the overachiever his brother was. Despite plenty of combat action, both thankfully returned home; Chuck was discharged first, and he embarked on a career as a radio broadcaster before going into politics. Tom saw his reservations deepen as he attempted but couldn't quite numb himself with alcohol and marijuana, with too much time to think after his transfer from the battle lines. After he followed his brother home to Nebraska, an argument about the war resulted in a fistfight, one that alarmed the neighbors into calling the police. They resolved never to discuss it again, as Chuck became a conservative Republican legislator and Tom a more liberal lawyer and professor of law. A little more of the before and after of their war experiences might have enriched the context, but Bolger ably conveys how Vietnam felt to those who fought it and what it meant.

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September 25, 2017
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.

November 1, 2017

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

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