How to reclaim his place and reset one moment in history?

First, read his story, by Michael Shaw, who as he picked up a research trail begun by a British war correspondent, Anthony Loyd, understood what too many people either do not grasp or cannily elide. Shaw wrote: “The confusion raises questions of accuracy and identity. It weighs the duties of journalism against the lure of uplifting war narratives. And it brings into question how much the instinct to memorialize truly respects the dead.”

Next, consider Blaine — Jimmy, as his eight siblings called him — as he was: a young farmhand and athlete drawn to the perils of the Marine Corps over the advice of his parents, who saw and urged a safer way. His brother Rob sent Shaw a long note about him that contains the sort of throat-tightening memorial that sorrow-soaked foot soldiers do not need a museum to know.

Jimmy, Rob Blaine wrote, was: “a bit mischievous. He liked to play pranks, such as bringing a fresh cowpie in tinfoil to the Gonzaga high school auction. The auctioneer was surprised when he opened it to see what was for sale. He and Tommy used to poke holes in the pop-machine cups with a straightened hanger and laugh as the purchaser lost all their cola out the bottom of the cup. He spent some time grinding down pennies into the size of dimes to use in the pop machines. He reveled in the thought of the priests finding pennies in the change box. He and his buddies once stole range balls from the local golf course and used them to pummel the nuns’ convent at their old elementary school. They hid in the field and escaped detection as the cops searched for them.”

Jimmy’s life ended soon after, in a war the country he rushed to serve would regret.

A painful truth is richer than its gentler substitute, even if the latter masks itself as more useful, or makes a better sale.

Rest in Peace, James Blaine.

Upcoming At War Event

ATLANTA, GA. // MARCH 19, 2019

Join us at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga., to hear experts explore Georgia’s role in dealing with the unconscious bias veterans confront in the civilian workplace. Panelists include: John Ismay, At War staffer for The Times; Vivian Greentree, Navy veteran and senior vice president of global corporate citizenship at First Data; Jason Dozier, Army veteran and director of program operations and evaluation at Hire Heroes USA; and Ginger Miller, a disabled veteran, veteran’s spouse, business owner, chief executive officer and founder of Women Veterans Interactive. Lauren Katzenberg, editor of At War, will moderate the discussion. R.S.V.P. here.

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