PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

This post will indicate one important fact: I am old, so remembering the past is part of what I do each day.

Do you remember where you were and what you were doing during the Vietnam War? I am old enough to remember, though, in the spirit of full disclosure, I never fought in that far-off country as many of my peers did with sacrifice and distinction.

I thought of Vietnam today when I read a story in the Wall Street Journal under this headline:

Climbing Hamburger Hill 50 years after the Vietnam War’s brutal, haunting battle

It was the story of a man, Paul Shemm, who went to Hamburger Hill in Vietnam to try to understand the battle which was fought essentially for nothing – just a hill – that claimed so many lives on both sides and, thereby, illustrated, for many, the futility of war.

Here are excerpts from the WSJ story:

+ “Hamburger Hill is one of the most famous battles of the long Vietnam War. It inspired a movie and congressional hearings, symbolizing, for some, the incredible bravery of the American infantry in Vietnam and, for others, the futility and waste of the war.

+ “Where exactly on this hill had the battle been fought all those years ago? On May 10, 1969, the U.S. Army’s most decorated unit, the 3rd Battalion of the 187th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, known as the Rakkasans, spent 10 days taking this hill against a deeply entrenched enemy. Every year the veterans mark the anniversary of the battle in Fort Campbell, Ky., and this year it’s the 50th.

+ “’Returning to the site of an incredible battle — is a rediscovery, it is a journey to remember our friends who did not come home,’ wrote Mike Smith, 70, who was a private first class with Delta Company’s 2nd Platoon.

+ “For most of your vets, they are really emotional when revisiting the sites where they were stationed and operated,” he said, adding that some were still bitter about the war after all these years.

+ “The U.S. troops didn’t stay long, and the hill was soon abandoned, an outcome that became the focus of congressional hearings featuring Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-Massachusetts), who called the battle ‘senseless and irresponsible.’

+ “Fifty years after the battle, Hamburger Hill, now at peace, belongs to those who fought and died there.”

This crunching story about Vietnam underlines two concepts for me:

• Take time to understand history, including wars, in the hope that doing so reinforces the futility of shooting at each other.

On this count, I wish I would have spent more time talking to my late father about his service in World War II, which could be justified on the basis of getting rid of a tyrannical dictator, Adolph Hitler, whose mission was to kill off the Jewish race. Failing to talk adequately to my father about this, though we had a great relationship, one I am thankful for every day, was missed opportunity for me.

• Make a concerted effort to honor and respect those who have served the country in wars – and that includes Vietnam, as well as the most recent conflicts in Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan.

One of my good friends in Salem these days is Ricky Love, a retired military veteran who left the service as a colonel after infantry service in Iraq and Afghanistan where he led battalions of servicemen. In war zones, he was a real leader who risked his life every day just as those who served under him did. Well done, Colonel!