Volume 10 179
Alexander came close to losing his head, literally,
in a tangle with the Persian military leaders, he was
victorious in the end, opening the way for further
advances into Asia Minor. Alexander the Great be-
came noted for his remarkable insights into fight-
ing a battle, including anticipating his enemies’
moves, having a keen sense of timing, and coordi-
nating heavy infantry, heavy cavalry, light infantry,
and light cavalry in a single attack.
“Lacedaemonians” is another name for the
Spartans of ancient Greece. The city-state of Sparta
became very powerful and its men were known for
their military prowess. For years, Sparta ruled
Greece, but it was eventually defeated by the city-
state of Macedonia, leading the way for Alexander
the Great’s father to become king. This, of course,
led the way for Alexander himself.
With this brief rundown of historical events,
Dugan’s “How We Heard the Name” is more ac-
cessible, but perhaps still partly ambiguous. The
first few lines are clear enough, describing “mili-
tary debris,” including dead horses and dead sol-
diers, floating down a river. We are not sure who
is standing along the bank watching this grisly pa-
rade, but the persona is a plural “we” and, whoever
they are, they know that the scene is “indicative of
war.” But Dugan throws in what may be consid-
ered a touch of sarcasm by adding “or official acts.”
Often, the true horror of war is disguised in eu-
phemisms, such as “official acts” or “conflict.” One
of the most recent examples of this practice that
caused outrage among many Americans was the re-
fusal by some government and military officials to
acknowledge that a “war” was going on in Viet-
nam. Because war had not been officially declared,
some people called it the conflict in Vietnam.
While Dugan’s personal experience was with
World War II—a war that many find more justi-
fied than others—he was still confronted with the
atrocities of violence and bloodshed and, likely,
some questionable actions by his own leaders. And
while bad memories may remain with people
throughout their lives, they may seek a little com-
fort in knowing “it all goes by” in spite of recol-
lections. Lines 6 and 7 in “How We Heard the
Name” can be taken both literally and figuratively.
The words “but it all went by” refers to the debris
floating on downstream out of sight of those watch-
ing, but in adding “it all / goes by,” Dugan means
that time passes and all the events of our lives pass
with it, even monumental events such as war.
The occurrence of the “soldier on a log” drift-
ing by is a bit ambiguous, in that the reader is not
sure whether he represents a certain historical mil-
itary man or is more of an everyman figure repre-
senting the task of carrying out the orders that oth-
ers have created. Regardless of the specific refer-
ence, the presence of the soldier allows an
opportunity for a voice from the past to make a
connection with the present—a present not unlike
ancient times, with wars, conflicts, and official acts.
In the conversation with the soldier, who “seemed
drunk,” the reader learns that he has transcended
centuries on the river, having started out some 300
years before the birth of Christ. When asked why
he and the military “junk” had made such a long
journey, he reveals that he has just come from fight-
ing in the Battle of the Granicus. His answer im-
plies that he was on the losing side (the war was
won by “all of the Greeks except / The Lacedae-
monians and / Myself”) and is, therefore, a Persian.
But since his actual identity is not disclosed, this
is only an assumption, and one based on logic.
Logic of course, is not a necessary component of
good poetry, so it can be speculated that the sol-
dier could be a disgruntled Macedonian who fought
on Alexander the Great’s side. In making his state-
ment, he claims it is a “joke” between him and
Alexander, but it is a joke full of cynicism and
mockery, not humor and good will.
Why would the soldier claim that all but a part
of the nation of Greece was a winner in this war;
why not all of Greece? To answer this it is helpful
to recall that Lacedaemonia (Sparta) once ruled the
entire area and was proud of its military and polit-
ical power. The Spartan glory days, however, ended
when the Greek state of Macedonia challenged and
defeated the Lacedaemonians, paving the way for
Alexander the Great’s father to take over.
The poems takes its most stinging shot at the
historical hero in the last two lines, which tell that
those ignorant enough to believe the heroic tales of
embellished history are little more than fools, or
“ba-bas.” In reality, Alexander came close to los-
ing both the Battle of the Granicus and his life, and
yet he came out of it politically and socially un-
scathed. No one recalled the near-deadly mishaps,
for only the good things made good stories. And
while it is true that Alexander would go on to earn
his moniker “the Great” by continuing to score un-
likely victories, even when his army was outnum-
bered, it is also true that he did so at the cost of
much human life. And there lies the point of “How
We Heard the Name.”
As a veteran of World War II, Dugan knows
not only the names but the deeds and stories that
surround the actions of heroes. He also knows thatHow We Heard the Name