Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

"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.

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.

Reviewer Mazza (11.15.04) mentions that the book "reads more like a novel than a memoir." Exactly, and that's the problem---which is it? As reviewer Bunch (1.24.06) notes, there are several events that don't ring true. For example, in 1985 the author and a friend visited a deserted Wall at 10 o'clock at night. As he knelt and wept in front of the name of a soldier whose life he had been unable to save in `69, who should appear but that same man's mother and brother (to whom he apparently said nothing). There are many books written by Vietnam vets. Read this one if you aren't troubled by repeated dramatic coincidences.

I have only read two books, in my twenty five years, from cover to cover. Both took nearly two months to complete, I'd read ten minutes at a time, or more.

I had been browsing through Borders, on Saturday evening, looking for Candy Bombers. They didn't have it. While I was faux browsing, waiting for someone to move, something popped out on the shelf. Medic! I work as an EMT in a small town, very rural, area. That had nothing to do with my interest, I just threw it in there. Members of my family had been in every way, for the past 150 years. Literally. They were killed at Five Points, Virginia, in the Civil War; Sainteny, France; and Cambodia. The last, was a feature of a thirty-years later, letter, that made national news. I'm fond of Military history, battlefield medicine, that laid the path for my career today, in Emergency Medical Services.

I'm a picky reader, and I'm critical of authors, their style either grabs me, or pushes me away. I have hundreds of books that I bought, only to use a paragraph, dozens that pushed me away, two that I enjoyed. Thousands in all, enough to have a library, in my home. I'm an author myself, co-author, I've written hundreds of articles and essays, and publish two books. I'm not great, I just have a really good hobby, and I can type.

Nearly ten hours ago, I sat down to finally read my September copy of JEMS. The Journal of Emergency Medical Services. I wasn't comfortable, I looked around, and laid down JEMS. I picked up Medic!, and now it's quarter to three on a Tuesday morning.

I read Medic!, in just under ten hours. Good book, skilled author. I'm posting it to a friend that is stationed over seas in the morning. Good literature must not sit on a shelf, it should be passed on.

I can't remember when I have ever been so moved and inspired by a book. I have never written a review before, but feel compelled to voice my admiration for Mr. Sherman and the way he so poignantly described his experiences before, during, and after Viet Nam. This book is thought provoking, funny, upsetting, and brutally honest. I could not put it down and recommend it to everyone. The comment about America becoming more materialistc and violent rings so true in today's politics.
Thank you, Ben Sherman, for one of the best books I have ever read. R.Pence

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...

Ben Sherman was a conscientious objector who nonetheless served in Vietnam as a medic. As a combat medic myself, much of what he retells here is spot on. However, parts of the book seemed a bit contrived, hence the 3 stars.

Sherman's courage is beyond reproach - to go into a combat zone unarmed (even as a medic) takes real stones. The fear, apprehension and constant wondering if he was "good enough" to do right by his soldiers was eerily familiar. His anguish and self-blame at those he could not save speaks volumes about his character. The descriptions of Vietnam and of his experiences in (and out) of combat are vivid. However more than once I couldn't help but think that he was retelling sea-stories or dramatizing - particularly in the epilogue where he retells meeting the family of a fallen comrade. While this may have happened, it seems inplausable and feels as if it were written for emotional impact.

Volumes have been written about Vietnam, many of them memoirs from those who served on the ground. While _Medic!_ offers a new perspective (from that of a CO - conscientious objector), it is not among the better of the lot.

I had trouble putting this book down after I started reading it. The thing that stands out is the lurid detail that the author goes into. This is not your average, sanitized first-hand account of the Vietnam War.If you're looking for a book that captures the gist of being a medic, conscientious objector, and soldier in Vietnam, this is the book. Its entertaining, the characters are likeable, and the storyline contains very few slow spots.

However, I am giving this book only 3 stars for a reason. There are a couple of coincidences in the book that I believe the author created with his artistic license. Number one is Ben meeting up with Buckshot on the battlefield after both had been left for dead. Number two is visiting the Vietnam Memorial and running into a person copying the name of the person whom Ben let die. Theres a few other unplausible situations that I'm starting to doubt the authenticity of.

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.

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.