Duty to Serve, Duty to Conscience
The Story of Two Conscientious Objector Combat Medics during the Vietnam War
James C. Kearney and William H. Clamurro, University of North Texas Press, 2023, 288 pages
Book Review published on: December 22, 2025
In recounting the decision to declare conscientious objection to the Vietnam War, James Kearney stated, “We decided that we would be willing to put on the uniform and serve if we could do so as noncombatants; indeed, we were both motivated by a strong sense of duty to country, as the title to this book suggests” (p. xvii). To better understand their own experiences within the broader context of the war, Kearney and William Clamurro organized a dual memoir to share their experiences as Army combat medics and conscientious objectors (CO) during the Vietnam War and add to a woefully understudied historiography. This book also raises questions about the true meaning of service and whether you must wield a weapon to serve your country.
This story starts with the college experiences of James Kearney and William “Bill” Clamurro. Kearney started as a student at the all-male Texas A&M University in 1964. He spent the summer of 1966 in Europe where he was introduced to the growing anti-American sentiment centered around the Vietnam War. Kearney transferred to the University of Texas in the fall of 1966. For the next few years, he became involved in student activism, questioned America’s involvement in Vietnam, and tried everything to maintain a draft deferment. On 5 March 1969, Kearney’s efforts proved futile, and he received a summons to report for his preinduction physical.
The reader is introduced to Clamurro largely through his relationship with Kearney. Clamurro was from an Italian American family in Nutley, New Jersey. He studied literature at Amherst College and earned a master’s degree in English literature at the University of Washington before he was drafted. The two men met at basic training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. All the background information about Clamurro comes from Kearney himself. Not until chapter four does the reader encounter Clamurro’s perspective and even then, he dives right into war. An assumption develops that Clamurro’s training experience and CO decision were similar to Kearney’s because of the preference given to Kearney’s personal experience. Nevertheless, by 1969 both men were headed to Vietnam.
This work contributes to a small historiography and understudied aspect of the Vietnam War. Ron Donahey’s account of his experience as a CO in Vietnam Combat Medic: A Conscientious Objector in the Central Highlands published in 2018, spurred Kearney to think about his own experience and how it fit into this chapter of the war. Donahey objected for religious reasons. Kearney and Clamurro objected for political reasons. The Selective Service law allowed for two types of CO: 1-O and 1-A-O. Men who were 1-O status sought alternative service outside of the military, whereas 1-A-O was reserved for objectors who were willing to put on a military uniform. Kearney explains that he and Clamurro both objected to the war but were willing to serve their country. Their status as 1-A-O was rarely used and even the Army was not sure how to deal with someone who objected for political reasons. Kearney and Clamurro felt as though their experience and motivations differed vastly from those of other COs and their story was yet untold.
The dual status these men held as medics and COs shapes the narrative structure of the book. Kearney and Clamurro share responsibility for telling the story of the conscientious objector, weaving the history of COs with their personal experiences. Kearney takes charge of the historical background and carries the narrative. Clamurro, a poet, uses select poetry he wrote in and about Vietnam to offer an emotional and descriptive look into the experience of war and the culture of Vietnam. He refers to his recollection of events as reflecting the “texture” of his military experience.
The way Clamurro talks about his war experience is almost like throwing back the curtain on production or peeling back the onion to reveal deeper layers. He talks about his letters and interrogates them as a historian would, acknowledging the filters he had placed on the correspondence with family and friends. The letters are factual but filtered. They offer different perspectives on his experiences based on who he is writing to. Clamurro admits he tried to control their reaction to his wartime experiences. That Clamurro has the ability and foresight to interrogate his own words makes this work more than just a heroic retelling of a war story.
The service of men like Kearney and Clamurro has largely been ignored in the historiography and as Kearney mentions in the book, even the U.S. Army Medical Department Museum located at Fort Sam Houston where Kearney and thousands of other COs trained during the Vietnam War makes no mention of them or their service. Duty to Serve provides a glimpse into the experiences of political conscientious objectors at this heightened political moment.
Book Review written by: Hayley M. Hasik, PhD, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas