I am trying to write periodic pieces here to feature each of James Webb's six novels in order of publication. Neither James Webb nor his campaign staff participated in this effort. I am an unpaid campaign volunteer and this idea is mine alone.This project tries to persuade those who are interested in James Webb to explore his six novels, written to critical acclaim over three decades. If you missed the first post and review of James Webb+óGé¼Gäós first novel, Fields of Fire, you may still view it by clicking here.
James Webb graduated from the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland in 1968 and received a commission in the United States Marine Corps. Except for a few sequences, his second novel, A Sense of Honor (1981), takes place within the walls of the all-male U. S. Naval Academy during 7 days in February 1968 and a few minutes during the following June.
Civilians call them military schools, but their graduates prefer the term +óGé¼+ôService Academies.+óGé¼-¥ The Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard each operate a Service Academy, offering young attendees 4-year college educations gratis in return for an obligation to serve a period of years as commissioned officers in their respective branches. Since the U. S. Marine Corps is the land combat affiliate of the U. S. Navy, some U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) graduates may volunteer to become U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) officers.
A Sense of Honor reveals how, in 1968, some USNA upperclassmen subjected underclassmen to harsh regimens of prolonged physical and mental stress. Included were ongoing daily demands on the new students, called +óGé¼+ôPlebes+óGé¼-¥, for meaningless, difficult, and humiliating tasks. Called +óGé¼+ôPlebe Indoctrination+óGé¼-¥, a refined term for hazing, the most punishing practices were cleverly concealed since they were officially banned by regulations. The rationale for these controversial training methods dates to medieval times and follows the certain truth that when the fighting starts it is too late to prepare warriors for the overwhelming pressures of combat.
James Webb invites the reader into the 1968 Brigade of Midshipmen, 4,000 strong, warts and all. Front and center is +óGé¼+ôWild+óGé¼-¥ Bill Fogerty, USNA first classman (Senior), who takes hazing to a new level. Fogerty is a cocky brute of a he-man whose daily pre-dawn conditioning runs around the academy+óGé¼Gäós treacherous sea wall foreshadow his future in the USMC. Counting down the days until graduation, Fogerty proclaims himself, with no modesty, the best of the best in the Brigade of Midshipmen. His heroes are the USNA graduates who mentored him in his first 3 years and are now serving as USMC officers in Vietnam. He is more than eager to join them upon graduation despite daily dispatches announcing all too frequent casualties within their ranks.
Captain Ted Lanahan, USMC, is the administrative officer in charge of Fogerty+óGé¼Gäós company. He graduated from the USNA some ten years earlier and in the meantime has served a tour in the Vietnam War, received numerous decorations, recovered from physical wounds, and is separated from his wife and son who now live with another man in California. Lanahan is dedicated to turning his boys into men and his men into warriors. He is a textbook USMC officer, though he cannot hide his open disgust for the useless annoyances visited on him by a jealous martinet of a boss who outranks him by several grades.
John Dean, an unfortunate Plebe who attracts Fogerty+óGé¼Gäós attention, is academically superior to his contemporaries; nevertheless, he is a pitiful failure as an officer candidate. He can never display his uniforms, his quarters, or even his personal bearing to the satisfaction of any superior. Thoughts of civilian life in recreational universities are never out of his mind. He is a magnet for misfortune and his chances of reaching the end of Plebe year are dismal in February, 1968. John Dean may or may not survive the hazing process but he will never again doubt his limits.
A Sense of Honor quickly becomes a tale of dilemmas. Whereas military minds often see only black and white, James Webb fills A Sense of Honor with a sea of gray. None of the major characters, and few of the others, can relax as they wait for the next ritual, sub ritual, and micro ritual that require precise responses. Webb boldly directs you to experience the ample quandaries of his characters, then he steps back and refuses to provide simple, easy solutions.
Further plot revelations would be unfair here, but a true anecdote can be told of James Webb being informally banned from his alma mater for some 4 years. USNA officials more than frowned on A Sense of Honor. They felt that Webb had been too harsh and inaccurate in his depiction of sacred USNA secrets at a time when the USNA was under pressure to reform the very soul of its training system. In 1981, immediately after its publication, USNA officials withdrew the book from its bookstore, causing virtually every member of the Brigade of Midshipmen to rush elsewhere to buy a copy.
So what does James Webb tell us about himself in 1981? As in Fields of Fire, he can remember, with uncanny precision, details, dialog, and minutia from distant years and experience. His opinions are always uncluttered and in plain sight. The scales never balance when writing, autobiographically, about a love / hate relationship. Finally, in A Sense of Honor, James Webb admires the bold heroic military leader, even as he is compassionate toward the marginal players. He saves his real love, though, for the The Brigade of Midshipmen, a mystical brotherhood that could not admit the rest of us even if it wanted to.
Next installment: A Country Such as This
In addition to James Webb+óGé¼Gäós Senate Campaign web site, he also has a personal web site that features his writing:
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C. W. Dean has been a Professional Photographer in the State of Virginia since 1972 specializing in portraits. He is a Vietnam veteran, son of a World War II veteran, and, like James Webb, proudly traces his origins to Virginia+óGé¼Gäós Scots-Irish immigrants. He lives with his wife, Elizabeth, near Mount Vernon, Virginia.
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The only comment I would disagree with is the one about military minds seeing just black and white. I'm assuming you're speaking of the officer corps. I've found much to my delight, my friends in the officer corps are capable and educated enough to do some pretty nuanced thinkng. Conditions on the battlefield often demand a flexible mind, able to adapt to changing plans in the middle of a battle, reacting to complex situations that may change again in the next hour.
Admittedly there is a lot of dogma within the confines of the Naval Academy or West Point, but the leaders these schools produced generally see the full spectrum. So many of these men and women study philosophy and international affairs and in general I would count many service academy graduates as our best and brightest. Jim Webb being a fine example, along with most of the fine former Generals who have tried to lead us out of this foolish foray into Iraq.
(I would exclude the Air Force Academy of recent, as the main requirement lately has been one's ability to thump the King James version with great vigor.)
Nevertheless, you've done another fine job, and I'm glad you're introducing Jim Webb's writing. He really is a remarkable writer. When I came back from Vietamn, Fields of Fire was the first Vietnam novel I read. It's still the finest piece of work written on the subject, 31 years after the Fall of Saigon and well worth reading again, which I did just a couple of weeks ago.
It was a good idea to post Jim's website. Those interested can find a wide selection of articles and speeches he has written. Some of the pieces he wrote warning about going into Iraq, seem less like mere writing and more like fortune telling. Jim saw how this crucial mistake in foreign policy would unfold and lists almost exactly what would before one American soldier had boots on the ground in Iraq.
I've been reading Robert Timberg's, "The Nightingales Song" again today, and I can't recommend this book enough. It's as close we have to a true biography of Jim Webb and so well done.
Thanks again for going to the trouble.
It's an extremely disturbing book to read in light of our government's current stance on torture.
After Vietnam--there were no parades, no thank you for your service, and in a lot of cases, no opportunity for Veterans to come home and find their rightful place in American society. In truth, the Wall should have a hell of a lot more names listed. A lot of our brothers and sisters died of suicide, drugs and more than anything, indifference to their often desperate situation. Sadly, they will not be remembered, except by those of us close to them, who mourn their passing.
We have to be careful this this time--in this war, to remember our Iraq veterans and work hard to make sure we don't end up making the same mistake with them as we did with Vietnam Vets.
I have a lot of thoughts about this issue, but perhaps better for a longer diary than here. Anyway, this a good subject for us to wrestle with and I'm glad Jim spoke out on these issues long ago. He's never be afraid to stand up and take a unpopular position if he felt it was the right one. That's the big reason why I want to see Jim Webb in the Senate.