Yujhniu

“Anyone who does not acknowledge the darkness in his nature will succumb to it...the lamp of conviction needs to be shaded by doubt, or it burns with a blinding light.” A Rumor of War was a clear example of just that, the trials of the Vietnam war were overwhelming. The story of a seemingly endless war full of sickness and death makes the audience engaged. Phillip Caputo was not only a decorated marine officer but also a very talented writer. The book was the first of its kind showing the audience the true nature of the war that was happening. A Rumor of War was not a Anti-War book but instead focused on the physical and mental trials of the war. Caputo belonged to one of the first battalions to go into the war; therefore, the book explains a lot of the expectations that the common solider had. Initially, the soldiers could be described as almost arrogant and cocky with an unrealistic and naïve view of war. As the soldiers were drafted they were often unmotivated when first going into the war. As the war progressed, the personalities and behavioral traits of the soilders changed. They became disillusioned and jaded men who were haunted by the new form of war, guerrilla warfare. With this new type of warfare, the enemy was often unknown and the strategies used in battle were foreign. No longer were the enemies’ next moves predictable. Not knowing where or when the enemy would strike continually haunted the soldiers. The battlefield was not the only thing under attack, the constant question of why the war was taking place had a constant presence among the soldiers and civilians. To a lot of people it seemed almost a endless and pointless war. A common myth in the story was the John F. Kennedy’s idealistic concept of Camelot, which helped to fuel a spark in soldiers that kept them fighting. Why did Caputo support the war even after seeing the troubles that followed it? The reason Caputo thought the war was beneficial was that it provided a way to show the