Over the past two years, I have been working on a wargame covering small unit actions of the Vietnam War.  In its approach, this game is not unlike many I have done in the past on eras such as World War II and the American Revolution.  But there is something very significant about the Vietnam War that makes it stand out from these other games.  Although it has been 30 years since this war, the memory of it is very much alive, carried by the veterans who fought in that war and their families.  And unlike other conflicts that our country has been involved with, there is much unresolved with this war and much pain associated with it even after these years. As a result, there are at least two questions one can ask about doing a wargame on the Vietnam War.  First, should we do wargames at all?  Second, should we do a wargame on the Vietnam war?

I'll start with the first question.  Why is it that there are people with a desire for wargames and is it a good thing to pursue this desire?  Certainly throughout history there have been wars and there certainly wouldn't be anyone who could truthfully say that we won't have wars in the future.  It can also be said that it is an undeniable desire that we should avoid war, the most horrible event of human life.  Are wargames a good or a bad thing in this context?  Perhaps this question should be broken down into various issues.

Do wargames increase the likelihood of war?  I have played wargames since I was a teenager.  This is common with other people that I have talked with who play wargames, it is a lifelong interest.  I have never found a single instance where playing a wargame increased someone’s desire for war.  Indeed, I believe it to be a common attribute of the people who play wargames that doing so only makes a person more sensitive to the dangers of war and less likely to have a false impression of what a war would entail.  Every wargame I have ever played has stripped away any glory that one might attribute to war and laid out the basic reality of war in analytical terms.  So in summary, I would say no, wargames do not increase the likelihood of entering into war.

Do wargames trivialize war?  There is no question that the representation of war provided by wargames is a simplified and cleaned-up version of the reality portrayed.  This is easy to forget, that when we move counters on a map or click a button on a computer screen, we are resolving issues having to do with actual people, in very dramatic terms of life and death.  Are we doing a disservice to the reality of war by presenting it in this way?  I can see this as being an issue in theory.  But again, based on my experience, the act of playing a wargame leads the participants to a desire to know more about the actual events, and it is that discovery of those events that leads one to a stronger appreciation for the reality of the event itself.  In summary on this issue, I would say that this is possible, but in practice it has the opposite effect.

Do wargames honor the participants or do them disservice?  This is the toughest and most important question to answer.  Do we honor the veterans of war by building these representations of their struggle, or are these products for our entertainment a bad thing.  There are two answers to this question.  The first answer is one that we can attribute to it.  In this case, again I can state that all of my experience over 30 years of wargaming is that the act of wargaming has only increased my appreciation for the veterans of these wars and I have only seen the same effect in others who participate in wargaming.  But the second answer is much tougher.  Do veterans feel that these wargames do them honor or disservice.  Here I have found mixed reactions. On the one hand, I have gotten very strong feedback from veterans that wargames bring favorable attention to these actions and help keep the memory of those events alive.  On the other hand, there are some who feel that wargames dishonor the participants and their development should not be pursued.  I can't answer this question myself, it is one that each person must resolve individually and I won't attempt to make a blanket statement in this case.

But now, more specifically, the question is: regardless of whether we should develop wargames, should we do one on the Vietnam War at this point in time.  To me, the key aspect of the answer is: how would this affect the veterans of the war and their families?  Would this game be a good thing or a bad thing to them?  Again, I can't answer this question myself, I have to depend on them to give me the answer.  But the answer is not clear.  I have had veterans look at the game and tell me that it is an honest portrayal of the events of that war, and that by doing the game I will be bringing favorable attention on the events of that war and its participants.  I have also been told that doing any “game” on the war is a disservice to the memory of those that died there and to their families today.  But if this is true of our more recent wars, it must also hold true for all wars.  Does this mean that all wargames should be stopped?

Of all the arguments and counter arguments I can think of regarding this issue, I end up boiling them all down to a single instance.  I have been talking quite a bit with one veteran of the Vietnam War who suffers from PTSD, is on disability, and who has struggled with his memory of the war for 30 years. He has told me that he feels that he now wants to confront his memories of that war and in doing so has provided me with many accounts of the war that I have included in my game.  But the most significant thing he has told me is that he very much wants his son to have a copy of the game when it comes out in the hope that it will cause his son to have more of an interest in the war and to ask him questions about his experience.  This to me is the single most significant issue I can think about - providing a means for the next generation to learn of our experience.

My generation, the "Vietnam generation", is moving on.  Gradually and inevitably, we are passing the baton of the world to the next generation. What do we want them to know about Vietnam?  And significantly, how can we convey that information to them?  I don't think people under 40 are going to be attracted to knowing more about the Vietnam war by default.  I think it is not a very attractive era for them to learn about and I don't think we make it easy for them to learn from us. I have the hope that by doing this game I raise the interest in understanding the Vietnam War both in my generation and the next.  If I can accomplish that, then I will feel that I have done a good thing.

If you are a Vietnam veteran, I want to hear from you (tiller@hiwaay.net).   If you have a story of the war that you want to share with me, as other veterans have, then I would be honored to include that story in the game for others to see and learn from.  Should the memory of the Vietnam War be allowed to slip away?  I think our basic freedom of speech demands that the story of these veterans be told.

There’s a saying “If you enjoy your freedom, thank a vet”.  If you believe this like I do, then here are two organizations that will give you a way to show that thanks:

• Vietnam Veterans of America
• Disabled American Veterans

You may also wish to read my Creed or remember my quote from the home page:

“What value should be attributed to Liberty if we are not willing to fight for it?”