Embarrassing enthusiasm

Juris was completely devoid of machismo. Here he is at 24, writing about Viet Nam: “Nearly twelve months I’ve been here and the biggest, most protruding, obvious truth I yet discovered is that men are never such little boys as when they are playing war. Incredible all this bravado and banality. And I thought Hollywood war was bad. The worst John Wayne flic is a sober documentary compared to the show these people put on with such embarrassing enthusiasm.”