War Veterans as Romance Heros

[sissteele]

Been reading my series romances with a Christmas theme and have discovered a very high percentage of them (without me realizing it when I ordered) have heroes who are Iraq war vets. Most fit the "tortured" or "imperfect" hero categories. Scanned the on-line plot lists and sure enough Iraq vets are more and more common.

Having read books like Mackenzie's Mountain where the hero is a Vietnam vet, Robyn Carr's current books, and Cold Mountain (Civil War), I know this is a typical plot device. But was this as common in romance novels after the Vietnam War or others...where authors writing contemporary romance soon after or during a conflict use the veterans of that conflict in their novels?

Probably on my mind due to Veterans Day this past week and having a cousin in Iraq now....

Peace, Julie
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"Be patient towards all that is unsolved in your heart and dreams, try to love the questions themselves." Rainer Maria Rilke

[GlencoraPalliser]

There are many novels (not necessarily "romance" novels per se) that featured tortured soldiers as protagonists or heroes following the Great War (WWI), and contemporary novels set in the era (or post-war era) have veterans of the Great War, so I would think it is a relatively common theme following (and even during) a war. Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway features a WWI veteran. Charles Todd's (contemporary) mystery series features Inspector Ian Rutledge, a much-tormented war veteran. Barbara Cleaverly's Tug of War features a war veteran. Jacqueline Winspear's mysteries features Maisie Dobbs, who served as a nurse in the war. Dorothy L. Sayer's Lord Peter Wimsey fought in the Great War. Rennie Airth's River of Darkness, like Charles Todd, features a police inspector who served in the First World War. Interesting a thought-provoking question/comment!
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There is one thing worse than a loveless marriage. A marriage in which there is love, but on one side only.
(Sir Robert Chiltern, Oscar Wilde, An Ideal Husband)

[Coco]

I've read many novels featuring veterans from wars, however never one where a Vietnam vet was featured. (I'm not much for reading modern romance novels, however I do read modern novels) Not sure why, however our vets were much maligned when they back from Nam. I dated a few, they were great guys or faced a lot of adversity. And a couple were truly the hero's you would want in a romantic novel. Heck both my mom and one of my closest friends married military men, vets who served on the frontline during Nam who do this day I consider to be the perfect men to marry. However in the 70's all things dealing with the modern US military seemed to be taboo. I loved growing up in the 60's and 70's however the respect I felt were due to our military and our traditions were undermined during that time period and it was in someways a confusing time to grow up in.

[sissteele]

Yes, I have read a lot of books where the characters are war experienced. I guess I wasn't expecting it when folks are just now writing about 9/11...expected some lag I guess.

Most of the books have been a little more forthright about the war...some heros express doubts about the conflict they were in. Others are clear just to say that war is hell, even if they were proud of their service.

One of the most romantic guys I know personally is an active service guy who loves doing his family's laundry and picking up the slack for his wife when he is home and she is working. A Suzanne Brockmann type guy in terms of what he does for a living...

Peace, Julie
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"Be patient towards all that is unsolved in your heart and dreams, try to love the questions themselves." Rainer Maria Rilke

[WandaSue]

Regencies -- and regency-set historicals -- often feature war veterans as heroes, as the Peninsular War was a very large part of their every day consciousness (having ended in 1815 -- Waterloo).

These days, in series romances, the Iraq War vets are making their appearances more and more. I say GOOD! These are brave and noble individuals, and regardless where you stand on the war itself, I don't know any American who doesn't honor our current men and women in uniform. Our Marines, Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Coasties -- they all deserve our respect for their courage ... and as far as can tell, they receive it. And so it follows quite naturally that those who possess the core values of honor, courage, and commitment should be "hero material" for romance novels.

The same was NOT true for Vietnam, however. Though they too had the same core values, for whatever reason (that the US lost the war, perhaps?), those soldiers/sailors/Marines came home to either nothing, or outright scorn. A sad time in our US history. And again, a natural outcome was that those heroes were not used as hero-material.

But consider that in the late-60's/early-70's -- the era of the returning Vietnam vet -- the "romance genre" was not what it is today. I was quite young, but I don't remember anything out there but the weird little Harlequin romances (nurses and secretaries, and the creepy super-alpha heroes).

Just some points for your consideration ....

[SamIam]

Missing by Sharon Sala published in 2004 is a book you might want to check out. The H is former army special ops.
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Give me a good book, a quiet place and some time, you have given me a generous gift indeed.

[Gini]

There is a series of books by Rachel Lee about Viet Nam Vets. The whole series comes under the Conard County group.

I enjoyed the whole series and others have praised them as well. Some might be hard to find, well worth the time.