CMU professor pens book on war
Vietnam veteran uses his own experiences to write novel examining soldiers’ struggles.
Lisa Satayut / Associated Press

MOUNT PLEASANT — “Every soldier returning from war has a unique story to tell of battles fought,
ordeals endured, friends lost and the absurdities that are part of and parcel of the killing and
mayhem that is warfare. “Stories to tell, but who will listen?”

Those are the words of Vietnam War veteran Timothy Caldwell. It’s been almost 40 years since he
fought in the war, and he hasn’t told a lot of people about it. But now he says he is ready to tell his story, if anyone wants to listen. Caldwell, director of the Musical Theater program at Central Michigan University, calls himself a “closet veteran.” He recently wrote a book titled “The Chaplain’s Assistant: God, Country, and Vietnam” under the
pen name JT Caldwell. It’s a novel but is based on Caldwell’s life. “Many of the things in the book actually happened,” Caldwell said. He said it took him many years and a great psychologist to work through his reasons for not telling anyone he fought in the war. “It was the second or third session; it opened a lot of issues and feelings,” he said of finally being able to talk about it. Although the book was just recently published, the 9th chapter was written more than 30 years ago.

“As I took my first shaky steps onto Vietnamese soil, I heard the dull thud of artillery in the distance.” Caldwell scribbled those words in a little spiral bound notebook on Jan. 5, 1970. “The sergeant in charge looked in our direction and smirked. His voice boomed over the speaker: ‘Welcome to Vietnam. Welcome to Hell.’” Decades later, Caldwell sits in his office on campus and seems to have no problem talking about his experience. He said most of his colleagues still don’t know. He was afraid to tell others he fought in Vietnam because of the stigma that was attached to the war and the soldiers who fought in it. He remembers how the young soldiers were treated by anti-war protesters in the ’70s.

“I always felt uncomfortable wearing my uniform off-post, particularly since anti-war protesters were
scouring the streets of New York City, trying to find soldiers to engage in arguments about the
morality of the war.” Caldwell saw this firsthand. “I felt sad as I watched the looks of fear and confusion on the faces of those young soldiers as they were berated by the protesters as being baby killers and Nazis.” Caldwell writes in great detail how he was drafted. At first, he thought he was safe from the draft because he was going to begin a teaching job soon. He was excited about starting a new job and moving to a new city. But his deferment paperwork was lost and his dreams of starting a new life, with his new wife, in a new town were shattered. In 1969, Caldwell received a letter. What he thought was a letter of deferment turned out to be a notice of induction. “This is my deferment, I assured myself as I opened it. I was wrong. “Under the letterhead of the Draft Board were three words: ‘Notice of Induction.’ Time stopped. I stood in the small alcove, reading and rereading the letter.” “I tried my hardest not to get drafted,” Caldwell said.

Caldwell remembers how a lot of the veterans went into hiding after the war. “Not only did the populace not talk about it, but World War II vets in VFW posts would not allow Vietnam vets to join,” he said. “According to them, we lost the first war the country ever lost,” Caldwell said.

Caldwell, now 62, has been teaching voice at CMU for 34 years. He plans on writing another novel, but it won’t be about the war.

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