War is hell.
We hear these words in daily conversation, but only those who have seen combat can truly understand their full and brutal meaning. Bob Kerrey's personal and difficult disclosure last week demonstrates the courage we all have known in him for years. It also reveals the very real guilt and pain that persists among combat veterans of all wars, and particularly Vietnam. When asked about their experiences ''in country,'' many veterans will tell you that they would never be believed, and worse, that they would never be forgiven. The complicated nature of guerrilla warfare in the wars of Southeast Asia created many of the situations that Bob Kerrey and others like him encountered, particularly on covert, moonlight operations conducted by the Navy SEALs.