1. How did Robert S. McNamara's assessment of the war compare to President Kennedy's? What accounts for the differences? Did such differences influence American policy in Vietnam?

2. Robert Heinl and McNamara both stressed the importance of morale, but they differed sharply on what morale problems existed and why. What accounts for these differences? Was morale an issue in Bobbie Lou Pendergrass's correspondence with President Kennedy? Was morale an issue for John Kerry? Why or why not?

3. To what extent were Arthur Woodley's and John Kerry's experiences in Vietnam consistent with the goals of American policy described by Kennedy and McNamara? Would Kennedy and McNamara have seen Woodley and Kerry as a model soldiers? What did Woodley and Kerry think of the policies designed and implemented by Kennedy and McNamara?

4. To what extent did Woodley's and Kerry's experiences conform to Heinl's observations? What accounts for the differences, if any?

5. Judging from the documents in this chapter, to what extent do you think the Vietnam War called into question or reaffirmed fundamental American values?