Achillies in Vietnam

I would actually agree with Sev about the book giving us the reason why the Greeks went to fight the Trojans, but not telling us why we went. I think part of the reason is Shay is just wanting to give us sufficient background to the Illiad, for those of us who haven't read it, and then he goes off to making the psychological comparison of what war does and how the soldiers in the Illiad, and the Vietnam veterans, share some belief's. I find it interesting that the way Homer depicts the soldiers in the Illiad, it's in a way that the soldiers actually show honor to the opposite side they are fighting. The book explains that part of this is because they spoke the same language, and they were fighting face to face, they didnt view themselves as superior to the other group they were fighting. The Americans and Vietnamese didn't share that language, that culture, and they didnt actually fight face to face...the Vietnamese used more of the hit and run tactic...and the American soldiers didn't really show any type of honor towards the Vietnamese. I think the language barrier was something that kept this from happening. One of the stories that stuck to me was when an American soldier saw a Vietnamese hiding in a bush. He asked him to come out, but the Vietnamese shot him instead. The soldiers M-16 wasnt working. The soldier then goes on to say that he was trying to give this guy a chance...again, the language, and not understanding each other caused this respect, honor towards the opposing side, never to have developed between both sides, making it impossible...