Wade, whom his men called the Sorcerer because he could do magic, including making entire villages disappear, could be a hero one minute and the living, breathing heart of darkness the next. He was a mystery. These were all secrets. History was a secret. The land was a secret.
Secrets remain from Vietnam.
Kerrey had his. He still may be clinging to the shreds of them. Ohio National Guardsmen, who knew a different terror on the day they opened fire on Vietnam protesters at Kent, still have theirs, as do others involved in May 4. Former Gov. James Rhodes, who sent the Guard onto the Kent campus, went to his grave with whatever Kent secrets he might have had. The value of May 4, even if it seems as if it's a relentless ghost, is that each year it serves as a reminder of the value of letting go of secrets in the service of understanding.