Medic: The Story of a Conscientious Objector in the Vietnam War

Rating:
Summary: Captivating Oratory (CO)!
Review: I'm touched by how Ben Sherman can so well put words to his feelings, his fears, his shame, his intentions, his gifts, and his misgivings. I cried so much while reading Ben's vivid descriptions of the heart-felt humanity wedged between officious detachment and reckless bravado, that I weep still just glancing back at the book cover.
Despite Ben's humble awakening to the realizations of how much he (we?) didn't know about the world off our college campuses, I honor his clear vocalization that he was a conscientious objector. Ben is four years my senior. I was blessed with an exceptionally high lottery number, which spared me immediately from the draft and for many years from the necessity to articulate the truth underlying my inner pacifism, despite my long-term outer activism. Truly, it takes courage each time anyone of us stands up and speaks truth to power, but my respect for Ben arises out of my witnessing how his truth withstood the forge of irrational violence and institutionalized fear-mongering.
It seems to simply take time, sometimes years, for us to find the words which result in the verbalization of our truth. Ben's words, were truly worth the wait. Packed with unordinary, action-packed verbs, Ben's writing bespoke his English major background. I especially thank Ben for educating me on Vietnam-related details which are as important to our generation's legacy as the arrival of the Beatles and the assassination of JFK. It is my hope that as today's youth read Ben's book, they will find their own courage and voice early and loudly enough that CO status becomes transfigured from Conspicuous and Outrageous to Common and Ordinary.


Rating:
Summary: A different kind of soldier
Review: "Medic!: The Story of a Conscientious Objector in the Vietnam War," by Ben Sherman, is an exciting, well-paced narrative that reads more like a novel than a memoir. The book tells how Sherman was drafted and was classified as a noncombatant soldier; he didn't carry a weapon, but still went into Vietnam and was exposed to danger in the combat zone. As a medic, he tended the wounds of his fellow soldiers.

The early part of the narrative includes texts of the letters sent between Sherman and the draft board as he sought to evade combat service. The narrative goes on to explore his work on a navy troopship and on the ground in Vietnam. He vividly describes the sights, smells, and sounds of service in the war.

The book is full of fascinating scenes, such as a political debate among the doctors and medics in a surgical theater. Sherman portrays the American soldiers in Vietnam as a diverse group: people with varying backgrounds, interests, and attitudes on various topics. Much of the book is very raw, sweaty, and in-your-face. But parts of the book are also graced with a touching, poetic delicacy. The final chapter includes insight on the writing of the book.

Sherman's account of the ethics and the process of becoming a conscientious objector is truly remarkable. He dramatically portrays the dilemma faced by young American men during the Vietnam era. Overall, this is a well-written narrative that is, in my opinion, a valuable and distinctive addition to the canon of United States war literature.

Rating:
Summary: Worst Book Yet!
Review: A 300 page book and the first 100 pages are nothing but grotesque whinning. The next 200 pages don't get any better. If you're looking for a dull book that speaks volumes about failing to do your duty and abandoning your fellow soldiers in the middle of a war this book is for you. Little on action (he only spent 100 days in Vietnam) but full of feeling sorry for oneself. Conscientious Objectors have served honorably in all wars with unquestionable courage and compassion. Ben Sherman was not one of them.

Rating:
Summary: Publishers, get this book now!
Review: For an author to be in a state on non-judgement around an experience like Vietnam is at a minimum an amazing process. Mr. Sherman simply takes a healthy proactive stance in solidifying his convictions in the midst of the runaway train called war. Writing this review at the start of yet another conflict fueled by the hubris of unexplored belief systems, this book becomes even more important in the obvious conclusion that in life, for the most part, we make it all up, and war is something that has reached the end its relevance in fueling devolution. This book represents a path my life could have taken, yet I doubt I would have had the authors level of courage. Thus it was a slow, experiential read, now a part of my gratitude for having not been to hell and back. The book takes us on a journey as if we had actually been on the journey, which is part of masterful writing. Just read it......

Rating:
Summary: Incredible
Review: Hands down the best book about the vietnam I Have ever read Bar None - and I have read alot of them - an story that is truly inspiring.

Rating:
Summary: An Opportunity for Healing
Review: Like the best of stories, this one is intensely personal, and like the best of stories, this one is also universal. Ben Sherman exposes his intense experience as a conscientious objector serving as a frontline medic with a vivid sense of visual and visceral detail. The story is of one young man's brutal immersion into the reality of war, and it is also story of wide reaching significance of human connection and the stunning human cost of war across borders, cultures, and eras.

Every Viet Nam vet has his or her own story; many are left untold, relegated to the bottomless black hole of suppressed war memories. No one could have faulted the author for choosing such a path; bringing memories of war horrors to light is painful. But Sherman offers his story as a gift of grace, an opportunity for healing, and as an imperative to seek other ways to resolve conflict. Paul Ferrini says, "When you have the courage to approach the wall of your fear, it turns into a doorway." Sherman has opened this doorway for himself, and his doorway offers an opening for others. Wars are fought by individuals, but are entered into and supported by our collective identity, by nations. If we are ever to learn a different way of resolving conflict, essential for the human story to continue, then we must have full understanding of the reality of war, not the propagandized unreality we're usually fed. Sherman's book tells a story we all, young and old, need to know. We especially need to know this story together, and "Medic!" provides a powerful vehicle for the most important of intergenerational conversations.

This is not light reading; it is important reading about some of the deepest --both hardest and best -- of human experiences. I was drawn in, engaged, and changed by this book like no other. Sherman's unique perspective as a CO medic is a story we all need to hear.

Rating:
Summary: Timely, Wise and Important
Review: The first page of Ben Sherman's book riveted me as few books have in my life. I devour books, but rarely with this much zeal. I was part of the 1960's generation: we were defined in so many ways by this war that Ben served in and describes so vividly and candidly. Yet his rendition of his experience helped me to gain important insights and gave me pause for reflections that I consider significant in my own growth as a person who wishes to learn from history. The book helped me understand why I "lost" my brother, who served as a medic in the Central Highlands from 1965 - 1968: he came home alive, but he was never the same person we'd known before he went to Viet Nam. We remain strangely alienated. Ben's book enlightened me; I am forever grateful and newly hopeful for dialogue with my own brother. Read this powerful book!

Rating:
Summary: Incredible
Review: The first part of the book, trying to deal with entrenched military policies and personnel, was great. Ben Sherman was as patriotic as the next guy, and willing to serve his country, but had moral reservations about taking human life. The Army couldn't deal with this unless it could find a way to pigeonhole him: Hippy, deserter, preacher's son, faggot. But I was looking forward to sharing his example as someone that actually thought the tougher questions through, and took a stance, however unpopular.
Then, 3 days in country, he conspires to kill someone for no better reason than to protect his own ass.
And while he bemoaned the situation leading to this, and carried some guilt around for it, he never quite came to grips with how this action impinged on or reflected his moral choices. I lost a lot of respect for Sherman over that lack.
The war action is certainly graphic enough for anyone's desire. I enjoyed the view of the war from the medic's point of view, then from the non-com really running the war despite the officers point of view. (Probably because i WAS a non-com, and one of my duties was to keep the division running no matter what came out of the JG's mouth...).
The ending surprised me. Without spoiling it, i'll say that i understand war is hell. I don't criticize any man for whatever they have to do to get through a war or avoid it entirely. I do hope they can be honest with themselves.
I do like that Ben did not try to justify his actions by saying the military screwed him, or failed their side of the contract. I dislike that he never really did justify his actions.

I bought the book in the O'Hare airport, and read it through during a weather delay from Hell. I did enjoy the book, the writing, the writer's candor, his attention to detail, and the way the characters around him come through clearly as people. I like that it raised more than a few questions that should be considered by anyone that is considering going to War, or sending people there. But i have a problem with the lack of answers offered for some of those questions...

Rating:
Summary: I loved the beginning...
Review: The first part of the book, trying to deal with entrenched military policies and personnel, was great. Ben Sherman was as patriotic as the next guy, and willing to serve his country, but had moral reservations about taking human life. The Army couldn't deal with this unless it could find a way to pigeonhole him: Hippy, deserter, preacher's son, faggot. But I was looking forward to sharing his example as someone that actually thought the tougher questions through, and took a stance, however unpopular.
Then, 3 days in country, he conspires to kill someone for no better reason than to protect his own ass.
And while he bemoaned the situation leading to this, and carried some guilt around for it, he never quite came to grips with how this action impinged on or reflected his moral choices. I lost a lot of respect for Sherman over that lack.
The war action is certainly graphic enough for anyone's desire. I enjoyed the view of the war from the medic's point of view, then from the non-com really running the war despite the officers point of view. (Probably because i WAS a non-com, and one of my duties was to keep the division running no matter what came out of the JG's mouth...).
The ending surprised me. Without spoiling it, i'll say that i understand war is hell. I don't criticize any man for whatever they have to do to get through a war or avoid it entirely. I do hope they can be honest with themselves.
I do like that Ben did not try to justify his actions by saying the military screwed him, or failed their side of the contract. I dislike that he never really did justify his actions.

I bought the book in the O'Hare airport, and read it through during a weather delay from Hell. I did enjoy the book, the writing, the writer's candor, his attention to detail, and the way the characters around him come through clearly as people. I like that it raised more than a few questions that should be considered by anyone that is considering going to War, or sending people there. But i have a problem with the lack of answers offered for some of those questions...

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, Moving and Honest
Review: This book was excellent. Ben Sherman has written his story in an honest and respectful way. He does not present himself as a paragon of virtue, but a 23-year-old man who does not want to go to war. Very few of those young men did, but Sherman went anyway and is honest about how much he wanted out of the situation. I loved the descriptions of his buddies and I felt the story was better for his having let us see the beginning, middle and end, rather than just his time in Vietnam. All in all an excellent book.

I purchased this book for my 19-year-old son (who is worried about his own future at the hands of Mr. Bush) and ended up reading it before he did. Looking at my own son allowed me to relate better to the young man Mr. Sherman was so many years ago.