An Honest Confession by an American Coward

familysecuritymatters.org ^ | November 7, 2006 | Pat Conroy

[neverdem]

Source: This essay is from his book, My Losing Season.

Pat Conroy may think of himself as a coward for not fighting for America in Vietnam, but FSM thinks it's mighty brave of him to admit it now, in the autumn of his life. Better late than never, Pat. Let's hope your courage today serves as an inspiration to other young men yet to heed the call to defend our beloved country.

[Cacique]

BTT

[Greenpees]

Hey Pat, you F***... Your a day late and a dollar short.......

May those who went in your place, have mercy on your pitiful memory

[Greenpees]

Sorry,

"You're" a day late. Spelling malfunction.

[goldstategop]

I disagree. Al Kobroth is by far the better man. Pat Conroy was a coward who demonstrated against his own country and never lifted a finger in her defense. He's 40 years too late and deathbed conversions are always suspect.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus

[endthematrix]

"At first I thought I was writing about being young and frisky and able to run up and down a court all day long, but lately I realized I came to this book because I needed to come to grips with being middle-aged and having ripened into a gray-haired man you could not trust to handle the ball on a fast break. "

Actually, that is some humbling reality to come to grips with. He started the project only four years ago and is coming to grips (guilt) internally "lately." It's liberating to free your demons. He asking for forgiveness and making amends.

[DTogo]

Let's hope your courage today serves as an inspiration to other young men yet to heed the call to defend our beloved country.

One would hope Pat will continue to act upon his regret/sorrow, maybe hit the talk show circuit, attend some anti-war rallies and speak (perhaps get booed as he booed Al and his brothers-in-arms decades ago), etc.

[word_warrior_bob]

If he feels REALLY bad maybe he'll send all of the proceeds of this book to VA hospitals. Nah, I don't think he feels THAT bad.

[CatoRenasci]

I like Pat's books and have corresponded with him, but I have very mixed feelings about his late 'come to Jesus' awareness of his own cowardice and bad behavior. I've known some of Pat's classmates and contemporaries from The Citadel and I went to VMI. For medical reasons (not my choice, they wouldn't give me a waiver) I couldn't go on active duty until after the Vietnam War ended, but when changes in the medical regulations permitted it, I served.

I'll take the support of our efforts from Pat now at face value, but in the back of my mind, I have a nagging feeling that by "confessing" now, he's looking for relatively cheap expiation. I think he crossed the line, though. Like many in and around the service, I opposed the way the war was being fought - either do it whole hog or don't bother was my view - and said so in letters to my congressman and senators, and I even went to some demonstrations with like-minded military types, but when the leaders shifted from protest to wanting the enemy to win, or counseling sedition, we said we thought that was bullshit and left. Even in Beaufort in 1972, Pat could have done that - stood up before that crowd and said something like: "I oppose the war and have urged our government against it, but saying we shouldn't be in the war is not the same as wanting the other side to win or telling soldiers to kill their officers - that's treason, children."

[bonfire]

Write to him and suggest it! Dare ya!

[word_warrior_bob]

If I can find an email for him I will.

[Northern Alliance]

Pat Conroy's novels include The Prince of Tides, The Great Santini, The Lords of Discipline, and Beach Music. He lives on Fripp Island, South Carolina. This essay is from his forthcoming book, My Losing

Powerful article, at least sound sincere, but wasn't The Lords of Discipline an extremely anti-military novel? Well, maybe he still was still a puke at that point in his life.

[California Patriot]

Powerful article.

[Carolinamom]

He's not a coward now. It takes courage to confess his own cowardice.

[steamroller]

I served in Vietnam and have a 50% disability due to serious diseases associated with exposure to Agent Orange-I have never read any of Conroy's books-there's probably nothing harder for a writer than to admit their own cowardice -the fact that it still bothers him-maybe even more now reminds me how that war never goes away-when men of that generation meet there is always that question-what were you doing then?which lurks,often unasked in our minds.I know there are many who were glad to avoid serving and went on to academia or other careers and never looked back-and almost inexplicably there are those who invent histories for themselves which they never lived-they are both the most pitiful and lowest for what they do-I hope that soldiers in this war won't be having to deal with these questions fourty years on,but I'm afraid they will.The big difference is that there's no draft-and not likely to be one,considering the way things have been going in Iraq.

[Wings-n-Wind]

Ping= 4 Later

[rbg81]

I agree. Coming to this conclusion now is a both a lot late and more than a little suspect.

[Proud_texan]

"He's not a coward now. It takes courage to confess his own cowardice."

I agree. None of us will ever know what's really in his heart but I can think of no financial reason for him to come clean; he'd of sold as many/more books if it was Bush bad, American bad, war bad and so on. I'm inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt.

People can change and perhaps he's made those first steps to growing up, regardless of his age. If such is the case I wish him well on his journey.

[LowCountryJoe]

I'd like to be forgiving but demostrations/movements have consequences. Who can honestly say just how much this anti-war demontrating re-energizes (or sustains) an enemy's fight. There were consequences then and there are consequences now. One of the purposes behind the Geneva Convention Code is to keep Armed Forces members from engaging in activities that will enrage the enemy and prolong the fighting. Imagine the message sent when your enemies know that the population that their adversaries come from do not have the stomach to win. Who knows how many more deaths there were (are) because of anti-war activism.