Our Year of War: Two Brothers, Vietnam, and a Nation Divided

by Daniel P. Bolger

Two brothers--Chuck and Tom Hagel--who went to war in Vietnam, fought in the same unit, and saved each other's life. They disagreed about the war, but they fought it together.

1968. America was divided. Flag-draped caskets came home by the thousands. Riots ravaged our cities. Assassins shot our political leaders. Black fought white, young fought old, fathers fought sons. And it was the year that two brothers from Nebraska went to war.

In Vietnam, Chuck and Tom Hagel served side by side in the same rifle platoon. Together they fought in the Mekong Delta, battled snipers in Saigon, chased the enemy through the jungle, and each saved the other's life under fire. But when their one-year tour was over, these two brothers came home side-by-side but no longer in step--one supporting the war, the other hating it.

Former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and his brother Tom epitomized the best, and withstood the worst, of the most tumultuous, shocking, and consequential year in the last half-century. Following the brothers' paths from the prairie heartland through a war on the far side of the world and back to a divided America, Our Year of War tells the story of two brothers at war--a gritty, poignant, and resonant story of a family and a nation divided yet still united.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Military Fiction, War, Military History

368 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

Daniel P. Bolger of Aurora, Illinois is an author, historian, and retired Lieutenant General (promoted 21 May 2010) of the United States Army. He currently holds a special faculty appointment in the Department of History at North Carolina State University, where he teaches military history.

Lt. Gen. Bolger retired in 2013 from the Army. During his 35 years of service, he earned five Bronze Star Medals (one for valor) and the Combat Action Badge. His notable military commands included serving as Commanding General of the Combined Security Transition Command in Afghanistan and Commander of the NATO Training Mission in Afghanistan (2011-2013); Commanding General of the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas (deployed to Baghdad, 2009-2010); the Coalition Military Assistance Training Team in Iraq (2005–06); and U.S. Army Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations. He is also the author of books, such as Why We Lost, Americans at War, The Battle for Hunger Hill, and Death Ground.

Reviews

[JD · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was not what I thought it would be as the story of the Hagel brothers' time in Vietnam gets lost between all the historical facts thrown into the pages by the author. The author also repeats a lot of information during the book and it got a drag to read even before I was halfway through the book. It is a real pity as the story of two brothers walking point together on patrol in Vietnam should have been a classic.

[Don Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two brothers, Tom-one of my law school classmates and Chuck-a U.S. Senator and Secretary of defense, volunteered for the draft and served in the 9th Infantry Division near Saigon in 1968. The author is also a former infantryman and he makes a convincing case that Chuck and Tom were heroes. Regardless of what you think about the Vietnam War (Chuck believed in the mission but Tom believed that the U.S. involvement was wrong), it’s impossible to dispute the author’s conclusion. These were two very young men who became very good soldiers who helped as many of their fellow soldiers survive. They both became sergeants in an Army that was woefully short of experienced NCO’s. I’ve read many nonfiction and fictional works relating to Vietnam. This book, published in 2017, deserves a place among the best books about Vietnam.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this brings back memories of my father who passed in 2008 and was a disabled Vietnam Veteran. This book reinforces my theory that the problems of today's society rest primarily in lack of education- lack of knowledge of what each and every soldier in this country has faced, especially those returning after Vietnam. Whether they were staunch supporters of the cause or embarassed participants- they were soldiers and have battle scars- not only for what they faced in the war abroad but events they faced when returning home. While Vietnam era veterans grow to be proud of their service, they also know many errors made in that war still plague our country forging into various wars since.

[Allie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book provided a good history of Vietnam but the details of the Hagel brothers seemed sprinkled in here and there rather than a book that focused on them, with Vietnam as the background details.

[Steve Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my personal reading goals is to learn more about the Vietnam War. So when I found an inexpensive copy of Our Year of War, a book about two brothers serving side by side in Vietnam, I decided to purchase it. I am gald I did since it turned out to be a highly informative, readable and moving book.


The two brothers featured in the book are Tom and Chuck Hagel. You may be familiar with the name Chuck Hagel. He became a United States Senator from his native Nebrska and served as secretary of defense under Barack Obama. The Hagels spent much of 1968 serving in Vietnam and this book tells that story. It also explains how they came to have different views on the war.(Chuck would support it-Tom would oppose it)

Our Year of War is authored by Dainel Bolger, a retired United States Army General. He has written eight other books and is a contributing editor to US Army magazine.

Bolger begins begins by describing some of the Hagel Family History, tracing the brothers' path from the Nebraska prairies to the jungles of southeast asia. This helps explain some of the reasons that the two brothers decided to serve in Vietnam.

The majority of the book, however, is devoted to describing combat operations involving the two brothers. Some had heartbreaking consequences while others involved personal sacrifice. For example, take the time Tom and Chuck had to save each other's lifes. These stories provide a great insider view of what life must have been like for the average vietnam grunt (a term Bolger uses to describe the average Vietnam foot soldier. ) Bolger also does a great job of illustrating how this combat generated real emotions like anger and sadness.

The Vietnam war was affected by many outside political and social circumstances. Bolger skillfully weaves these events into his story, showing how they influenced the war and the Hagles experience in it.

I appreciated the frankness and honesty of this book. Bolger is a former army general but he is not afraid to criticize Army leadership and government officials for poor planning and decision making. For example he argues that mistakes like using the wrong tool (conventional U.S army forces ) for the wrong job(counterinsurgency ) were at the heart of our ill fated Vietnam venture.

Recommended Audience
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants in a deeper insight into what is was really like to fight in the Vietnam War.

[Scottnshana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed General Bolger's narrative on the Hagels and their volunteer tours for Vietnam. They say that what's important gets measured, and the success metric that everyone brings up in this conflict is the Body Count--which the author couples to the concept of 'the crossover point'. It is explained here as "the fabled juncture when we killed more of the hostiles than they could replace." Bolger points out that this metric would have meant something if the various intelligence agencies could agree on a total for enemy combatants or how many enemy replacements were successfully transiting the Ho Chi Minh Trail toward the fight. It's hard to turn a fraction into a percentage when its denominator is always changing, depending on whom you consult. The author also examines the idea that it was only draft-age American males with nowhere else to go who went to this war--which of course tees up the Hagel brothers' deployments--and successfully addresses the sensational idea that the media somehow stabbed that demographic in the back. I have been reading about Vietnam for most of my adult life, but I found some solid, novel perspective on the war in this particular book. I also found a lot to respect in both Hagel brothers and their divergent perspectives on the conflict in which they toiled--but then they both volunteered to go and I believe their evaluations are thus of greater value. There is a lot in "Our Year of War" to ponder, and some interesting new insight into the complicated legacy of Vietnam. Recommend.

[Monical · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't been able to bring myself to see Ken Burns' series on Vietnam, but I picked up this book, about the experiences of brothers Chuck and Tom Hagel during their Vietnam service in 68-69, and couldn't put it down. The author, also a military man, has interesting insights into the way the war was waged, and the potential lessons for other wars against insurgents. I must say I can't see that the lessons have been applied, and to my mind the injustice of the draft has been replaced by the exploitation of volunteers. I clearly need to read more about Vietnam. Am I ready for the series? Not sure.....

[Kenneth Flusche · Rating 5 out of 5]

1968, 2nd half of ninth grade, 1st half of the tenth. Paper-boy and an avid reader. While the forground is the story of two brothers. The Background is the time, USA our World. History is repeating ugg.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking for a book about what went on in the Vietnamese War and this book did a good job delivering. Some of the phrasing used was clever and humorous in spots. The Hagel brothers featured in the book are raised to almost hagiographic levels and it got a bit tiring.

But this was a good description of what two soldiers went through during their service.

[Patrick Vinge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great look at two brother's experience in the Mekong Delta as draft volunteers.

[Noel Burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting story from two brothers who went to war in Vietnam and were never the same afterwards.

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book I learned so much about the war. It is informative, sad, made my blood boil. All the things it should have. A really great piece of history