Journeys: Pilgrimages in the Aftermath

Neither father nor son are thrilled with the trip about to be undertaken. The elder Coulbourn thinks his son's pending career choice is a dull one. But at least it's safe. His son, Rick, thinks Forestry, a sometimes solitary life among trees, is exactly what he wants. But his application to the U.S. Parks Department's internship program does not carry him to the vast expanses of Yellowstone National Park. Instead, it takes him only a few hours north of his home to an assignment at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. During the two months he spends in Washington, DC, Coulbourn encounters a cross-section of visitors and the seemingly peculiar offerings they place at The Wall. It affords him a time-capsule view of America's 'world' as it was in the years just preceding his birth, a perspective on the events that shaped the stranger who is his father. Society tends to brand every war with a particular degree of decisiveness. For most who can remember, the 'shame' of Vietnam is summed up in one all-too-familiar photo: military choppers evacuating the American embassy in Saigon on April 30, 1975. But some lessons do not emerge until long after the smoke fades. Vietnam is an ongoing learning experience. This is a book for those who can recall the pivotal decade of 1965 -1975, nostalgically or otherwise, as well as for those cannot.