Comradeship, Moral Injury, and the Legacy of the Vietnam War: The Need for the Humanities to Close the Gap between the Veterans and their Nation

On September 7, 2017, in the fourth public program in CU’s Vietnam War Commemoration lecture series, Vietnam Veteran, Senior Fellow at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and former Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities William Adams reflected on his experiences in the Mekong Delta in 1968-1969. In a difficult reckoning with their experiences in war, Adams knows from his own experience, many veterans also steer by the treasured memory of comradeship in facing risk and danger. As NEH Chair, Adams led initiatives to put the humanities to work in bridging the gap between the individual experiences of veterans and the nation’s involvement in a war that divided the nation, and may divide it still. When Americans, whatever their age or record of military service, can convene to speak honestly to each other about the experiences of veterans of the Vietnam War, the benefits of that conversation ripple in dimensions beyond estimation. Adams also reflected on his recent return visit to Vietnam as a parable of memory and return.