The Truth About War

Karl Marlantes, a highly decorated veteran of the Vietnam War and author of two grim and heart-wrenching books based on his experiences, talks with Bill Moyers about returning home to the United States after being sent across the world to kill.

“I haven’t been sure about how to start this interview,” Moyers says to Marlantes at the start of their conversation, with characteristic sensitivity. “I’ve never been to war. I’ve never looked a man in the eye who was trying to kill me and kill him before he could. I’m not even sure that I can ask a question that doesn’t strike you as banal, against your experience. I guess what I’m saying is that there’s this divide between the warrior and the rest of us. And that divide can’t really be crossed, can it?”

“No,” Marlantes begins.

—Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.

Moyers & Company: