On Memorial Day, let’s think of all the young men who died in war far too young

On Memorial Day I think about Matt Stewart.

Matt was a classmate of mine in the Corbin (KY) High School class of 1966. A small guy with a ready smile, everybody liked Matt.

After graduation, Matt looked for a job, but employers in those days were reluctant to hire young men who hadn’t fulfilled their military obligation. So Matt enlisted in the Army. He wanted to get his military requirement out of the way and then get on with the rest of his life.

Matt Stewart died in a foxhole in Vietnam in September 1969. The after-action report says that Matt and his fellow soldiers were hit by mortar and rocket fire. The fatal attack occurred just before Matt’s 21st birthday. By then, President Richard Nixon already knew the war was unwinnable.

Matt Stewart’s death was like those of the many Americans and Vietnamese who perished in a war that should not have been fought. All war is insanity, and many people recognized that at the time of Vietnam. Looking back, it is easy to see that this war was unnecessary, and we still deal with its impact.

Some in my generation served in Vietnam. Some served elsewhere. Others received deferments for college, physical conditions, or family issues. Those who went to Vietnam clearly suffered the hardest, and those who didn’t make it back clearly sacrificed the most. But wherever we were in those years, and whatever we were doing, the Vietnam War formed the horrific backdrop of our lives.

Many young women in the Class of ’66 had to deal with fallout from the war. Some were married to men who served, and had to deal with spouses who suffered from PTSD. Some were nurses who treated returning veterans in VA hospitals.

There are those who still argue that we could have won that war if we had only committed ourselves to an all-out effort. Maybe so. If we had, the outcome could have been different. And then, maybe not. And how many more would have died?

If our politicians had been honest with us, perhaps returning veterans would have been treated better. As it was, the soldiers were blamed for the war. Many got rid of their uniforms as soon as they could, and let their hair grow. They tended to spend time with other veterans because they often could not relate to the general public. The war was theirs, but the mistakes belonged to the country’s leaders.

This year, we’re seeing young Russian men fight in a war that only a few in power want. Their leaders are lying to them and the people of their country. We never learn.

Although, one lesson Americans did learn from Vietnam was that we can’t always trust our leaders. Both presidents, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, lied to the American people. If Johnson had been truthful, many lives could have been saved. Nixon already knew we were not going to win the war, but he kept young Americans in the fight.

Looking back at those times, I am awash with survivor’s guilt. If I had volunteered to go to Vietnam, then one other person would have been spared. Perhaps that person would have lived to this day and he could think about his good luck. He could have had a family. He could reflect on Memorial Day. I might have died if I had gone there instead of serving my overseas tour in Turkey. But I live with the knowledge that someone did go instead of me. That burden is mine.

On this Memorial Day, let us think of all the Matt Stewarts, all the young Americans who never got a chance to get on with the rest of their lives.

Edmund Shelby is a retired Kentucky journalist and author of the new book “Graduating Present: The Vietnam War and the Class of ’66.”

This story was originally published May 27, 2022 at 8:35 AM.