R Blog

Senator James Webb, The Writer

When James Webb’s first novel Fields of Fire was published in 1978 I ignored it. I was tired of reading about Vietnam. And since I had been a pogue (per Mr. Webb’s definition, assigned to a cushy base job) during my time in South Vietnam, I didn’t want to have Webb make me feel guilty for not crawling through the mud. I was so pleased, however, with his victory in the Virginia Senate race that I decided to reward him in the way that a writer, like Webb, would appreciate best—I ordered a stack of his books from Amazon.com. I didn’t read them in order. The first was Lost Soldiers. Lost Soldiers is a thriller, a page turner, yet a surprisingly thoughtful book that examines the culture of Vietnam and the impact of that war on the losers. Then I picked up Sense of Honor, a sort of coming of age novel about some Naval Academy cadets who probably resemble Jim Webb and his classmates. I’ve read a number of “military academy” books going back to my grade school days. I have always been fascinated and repulsed by the regimen of plebe year. I read enough to never consider applying myself. Sense of Honor is an impressive book. One reason is that Webb decides to place the action in essentially a one week time period. This is was a challenging decision for him to make. Yet the plot is tight, the characters memorable and evolving. The book got him banned from the Academy for a number of years because of its critical look at the hypocrisy involved in the system. Webb became an officer by virtue of his Academy education. But he has the sensibility of an enlisted man and demonstrates over and over in his books a natural antipathy for authority. The Emperor’s General is historical fiction and follows MacArthur back to the Philippines and into occupied Japan. The protagonist is a young Captain who is on MacArthur’s staff by virtue of his ability to speak fluent Japanese and the book gives one an insight into both the megalomaniacal personality of MacArthur and the curious, but ancient culture of the Japanese. Fields of Fire, the semi-autobiographical recounting of life in the bush as a combat Marine is in the tradition of Red Badge of Courage or All Quiet on the Western Front. It’s the kind of book that would remind people like myself to join the Air Force and not the Marine Corps. It’s down, it’s dirty, it’s bloody and profane. It meets my definition of a great book for it takes you places you will never go; then makes you taste it and smell it and want to vomit it back out.
James Webb was sworn in this week as US Senator from Virginia and immediately introduced a bill that would increase educational benefits for veterans. It will be interesting to watch Webb in the Senate because he has a CV that gives him instant and unique credibility among his colleagues and makes him interesting to the media. And, I think I still have two or three of James Webb’s books to look forward to.

Webb, Allen and Political Football Metaphors

A year ago Senator George Allen of the great state of Virginia was the star player, on the short list for the Republican nomination for President and a regular on Sunday talk shows where, as a former college player and son of a famous coach, he belabored the football metaphor. It was amazing to me how he could relate every known political or foreign policy decision to football. But now, as a new Congress is sworn in, Allen isn’t just a bench warmer, he’s sitting in the stands, ineligible, having been penalized for a series of turnovers. There was, of course, the Macaca moment, which added a foreign slur to the lexicon. Then there was the situation with what Jon Stewart would called Allen’s Jewyness. Allen fumbled that as well, couldn’t cover the ball and as the pigskin bounced around let the situation get worse by talking about pork ( a favorite subject of politicians). Next some old teammates and a few classmates suggested that Allen liked the “N” word better than the “M” word, Allen being able to go at least two ways lingually. That ball skittered around the field interminably to the point that Allen lost his cool and let his campaign workers tackle a blogger who was trying to blitz the Senator. This made him seem like a bully, someone playing with twelve men on the field. Momentum was lost and his opponent James Webb, a lackluster campaigner, won the election in overtime by what amounted to a safety. Allen was sacked in his own end zone making Webb the Senator elect. Now James Webb is a fascinating guy and I predict will make a fascinating Senator. He’s one of those fellows who always seems to be able to move the ball down the field. Naval Academy graduate, legitimate war hero, attorney, Reagan appointee, Secretary of the Navy at a young age and writer of fiction and nonfiction, Democrat turned Republican turned Democrat. I don’t know if Virginia decided to give him the ball, or just take it away from George. Perhaps they thought he was one George too many. I’ve been aware of Webb as a player for many years. I honestly don’t think he’ll be too worried about a second term. He should be considered an impact player and ought to help build the Democratic franchise. I had never delved into his books but have just read four of his novels in quick succession. He is a very, very good writer with a great understanding of class, race and culture. More on his books in the second half of this blog.