On the muggy afternoon of 11 June, General Eric K. Shinseki bid farewell to the Army he served honorably for 38 years. Beginning in the jungles of Vietnam and ending in the swamps of the Pentagon, he climbed from platoon leader to Chief of Staff. In the intervening years, he showed the courage for which he is lauded by his supporters and castigated by his detractors. Through it all he demonstrated the leadership and class expected of an officer and a gentleman.
