Vietnam & the Civil War: Two History Programs And Book Signings With James C. Kearney

The Fayette Heritage Museum and Archives staff is pleased to announce that historian and author James C. Kearney is returning to La Grange to present two interesting and thought provoking programs on successive Thursday evenings in August.

On August 10, Kearney will tell the compelling story of his tour of duty in Vietnam. “Duty to Serve, Duty to Conscience: The Story of Two Conscientious Objector Combat Medics during the Vietnam War,” written by Kearney and his longtime friend, William H. Clamurro, was recently published by the University of North Texas Press. The authors, both 1-A-O medics, describe the ethical challenge of serving their country during wartime while staying true to their principles. They were among a new breed of conscientious objectors who were more political than religious in their convictions.

Kearney, who grew up and lives on a ranch near Columbus, served first as a medic with an artillery battery in the 1st Infantry Division, and later as a Medevac medic with the 1st Air Cavalry. He was seriously wounded during a “hot hoist” in February 1971 and was treated by Clamurro back at base. For this volunteer mission Kearney was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart.

As an assistant professor in the Department of Germanic Studies at the University of Texas, Kearney has taught a course titled “Dissent in Democracy: The Civil War and Vietnam in Texas.” Kearney states there are striking parallels between the dilemma faced by hundreds of German immigrants in Texas during the Civil War and the situation he and Clamurro faced regarding Vietnam. This is the intriguing premise of his August 17 program.

Several years ago Kearney’s annotated translation of W. A. Trenckmann’s Civil War novel was published by State House Press as “The Forty-Eighters on Possum Creek: A Texas Civil War Story.” Trenckman, who wrote his novel in 1908, was still a boy at Millheim in neighboring Austin County during the Civil War. Fictionalized as Possum Creek, this area was one of the Lateiner communities in Texas where educated German immigrants tended to concentrate. In the novel, the young hero, Kuno Sartorius, turns eighteen and is faced with the draft. He is torn between his beloved teacher, Herr Lüttenhoff, who has extracted from him the promise that he will not put on the uniform of the Confederacy under any circumstances, and his father, who feels it is his son’s duty to fight for his new country, even if in a bad cause. The novel uses a love story as a device in portraying the conflict felt by German immigrants trying to preserve their language and traditions while still being good citizens and staying on good terms with their neighbors.

Kearney reminds us that Austin, Colorado, and Fayette counties were all placed under martial law by the Confederate authorities during the war. He also points out that the novel includes a chapter about the so-called “Break Up” at the end of the war. As soldiers made their way back home in small groups and bands through towns and communities, they plundered and stole. This disorderly affair led to riots and violence, and one of the most dramatic events occurred in La Grange. Troops from Terry’s Texas Rangers occupied the town and systematically looted all the stores in town and threatened to burn the town down if anyone attempted to stop them. The story is relatively unknown in La Grange, but the book ends with Kuno’s involvement in the Break-up.

Both programs will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the meeting room of the Fayette Public Library at 855 S. Jefferson in La Grange. Please use the rear meeting room entrance facing Franklin Street. After his program, Kearney will be available to sell and sign books.

For more information, please ask for Rox Ann Johnson in the Archives at 979968-3765 or email archives@cityoflg.com.