If Iraq/Afghanistan War veterans are anything like Vietnam War veterans, you’ll see more and more of these “misremembering” episodes among your fellow veterans in the coming years.
I stopped attending reunions held by veterans of a unit I served with in Vietnam simply because it became too difficult for me to keep my mouth shut while they were telling “war stories” that weren’t even close to how I remembered it to have happened. I could tell by their intensity and attention to detail that they weren’t lying; they truly believed what they were saying was the truth to the point I’m sure they could have passed a polygraph.
Eventually, after several years of observing these “story tellers” at annual reunions, I think I figured out how this could have happened: In the last forty-five years, they had told this story thousands of times, and each time they told it, they changed it just one tiny bit until their memory of the incident wasn’t even remotely similar to what actually happened, but they truly believed this was exactly how it happened.
At first, I thought these flights of imagination were harmless, but when someone started collecting these stories and publishing them in books claiming to be the History of the Vietnam War, it became serious. If this is happening with the history of the Vietnam War, what does it say about the histories of all the wars going back to Thermopylae and beyond, as the histories of these wars are also “eye witness” accounts recorded many years after these wars had ended.
I have noticed when authors are given a choice between how an action actually occurred and an account of the same action that has been exaggerated, they’ll publish the exaggerated account.
I have learned to be wary of those that begin with:
"This is nooo shit!"
Seriously, you are correct.
The telling of a story, no matter how true or untrue, is further embellished, each time the story is retold.
Did you know 'attention to detail' is a sign a person's lying - not the other way around? I'm stunned you would offer up excuses like this under these circumstances. Read on DJ - I have a theory...you're 'take' is starting to make sense...
All the 'vets' on the helicopters were telling the truth - and NONE of them 'misremembered'. It was only the journalist - Williams - who came up with the lie - not any of the vets.
On the other hand John Kerry - a vet was well known for telling lies about his experiences. He lied repeatedly... It's possible your friends were liberals... and therefore - liars.
Do you remember their politics?