Guys Like Me
Five Wars, Five Veterans for Peace
Michael A. Messner’s Guys Like Me profiles a veteran from each of the five most recent American wars, documenting the experiences that led them to activism and advocacy for peace.
Messner, the Vietnam-protesting grandson of a World War I veteran, provides excellent, analytical passages on the wars that give context to the veterans’ stories. He and his subjects—some a part of, and some independent from, Veterans for Peace—discuss harmful attitudes about masculinity and rote patriotism that lead Americans to ignore the damages of war. The United States doesn’t prioritize veterans’ voices and experiences in a way that impacts military policy, they say, and that’s a damn shame.
Five veterans’ profiles are at the center of the book, with the stories of other veterans mentioned in brief. They share enlightening themes: distress around war and after returning home, racism and other abuses during deployment, struggles to fit back into civilian life. They work to come to terms with their wartime experiences. There’s also a thread of substance abuse—variously in their childhood homes, during their military years, and upon their return.
Ultimately, all five men found purpose and community in different types of service and activism to promote peace. Ernie “Indio” Sanchez, a Hispanic American World War II vet, became a one-man peace campaign, wearing a button that strikes up conversations. Activist and poet Gregory Ross, who was in the Navy during Vietnam, describes struggles in activist group dynamics and makes an important distinction that he’s not just antiwar: “Veterans For Peace, it’s for something. It’s not just against something. It’s for peace.” All five are unique and engaging storytellers who pack the book with human interest.
Messner documents these men’s efforts to amplify their ideas. The testimonies of these varied, thoughtful, and racially diverse veterans are at stark odds with the cinematic ads we see of government-approved pro-war imagery, and it’s important they be heard.
Reviewed by
Meredith Grahl Counts
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
