On August 1, 1961, United States Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara (1916-2009) established the Defense Intelligence Agency (“DIA”) which became operational on October 1, 1961. The new agency was assigned the task of acting as a central hub for the coordination and monitoring of the United States intelligence apparatus. In the wake of the Bay of Pigs Invasion in April 1961 and its disastrous aftermath, President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) sought to regain control over America’s intelligence operations. McNamara tapped Lt. Gen. Joseph Carroll (1910-1991), a former special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), to lead the DIA in its assigned mission to place power of the intelligence community in the hands of the president. Carroll and and his wife Mary had five sons, one of whom is the author of this book, James Carroll.  This is his story of how he found his way in the Church, his differences of opinion with his father on society’s issues, and how events during the 1960s altered the relationship between them.

Carroll, his siblings, and parents are the typical American family of the 1960s on appearance. For James, his middle-class upbringing progresses without fanfare. However, for his father Joseph, things were far more serious as the Cold War and Vietnam heated up. Domestically, the Civil Rights Movement was pressing full steam ahead and became a hotbed issue across America. Ideologically, father and son found themselves on opposite ends of the spectrum as the younger Carroll found a calling in religion. And as he moves priesthood to the delight of Francis Cardinal Spellman (1889-1967), he finds himself developing a negative view of the war, dedicated support for civil rights, and irritation at the claim of a “missile gap” with the Soviet Union.  The seeds had been planted and in 1969, Carroll was ordained into the priesthood to the delight of his parents who are proud of their priest son.

The Vietnam War remains controversial and has been called America’s “least popular” conflict. My uncle who served in Vietnam, recalled that when flying home after his tour, senior officers told troops to change into civilian clothes before leaving the aircraft and going home due to the hostile protestors waiting for returning soldiers. He went on to describe the names they were called, and soldiers being spat on by anti-war demonstrators. As the war rages, James becomes more disillusioned with the war, but he also knows that the relationship with his dad will become strained should his anti-war position become officially known, due to the father’s high rank in military circles. It becomes a cat and mouse game as the author explains the efforts, he employed to prevent his father from seeing his anti-war efforts at a time when Washington was committed to victory.  His analysis of the conflict and decisions by senior officials provokes thought, and highlights the miscalculations made by Washington in supporting the regime of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem (1901-1963), whose assassination casted a dark omen over the conflict and preceded Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas, Texas in November 1963. Eventually, the war did end, but the two Carrolls still had a rough road ahead.

In 1974, Carroll left the priesthood and shocked his parents. His decisions and feelings about it are explained, as well as the fallout at home as his staunchly Catholic parents learn that their son is leaving the clergy. It is a tough section in the book, and I can only imagine the pressure Carroll was under as he came to realize that he wanted a different path in life, which included a wife and kids who also are discussed in the story. In fact, there is one section regarding a road trip where his wife confronts him regarding the senior Carroll’s actions behind the wheel.  But what we also see is the first stage of decline for Joseph as he falls victim to a condition many of us have witnessed in our families. The author takes us step by step as the family does its best to support the aging patriarch, all the way to the end until he passes away surrounded by family.

When I finished the book, I was thoroughly satisfied with the purchase. Carroll writes beautifully, and the story is as American as you can get. The difference in opinions from one generation to the next, compounded by faith and issues of morality are what make the story relatable. Regardless of where we come from, every family has its struggles, and for the Carrolls, those challenges had long lasting effects. But the author never stopped loving his father and that should not be lost to the reader. Surely, there are tough moments in the book, and when the two do have difficult discussions, the elder Carroll’s softer side does come out. But he was also a man of code, and his profession required a level of discipline at a time when the world was on the brink of nuclear war and social upheaval had gripped the planet. And despite their challenges, both father and son are what make the story as compelling as it is.  Highly recommended.

“First, that no human being has the right to sit in absolute judgment of another. Second, the essential note of our relationship to God, and to each other, must be forgiveness.” – James Carroll

ASIN :‎ B0062EAWVU
Publisher :‎ Mariner Books; Reprint edition (April 1, 1997)