Myrer also encourages the reader to identify with Sam by giving the book's protagonist almost supernatural insight into world conditions. Sam had a hunch that America will help the Allies fight World War I, just as he foresees the Great Depression. To Sam, living a 'real' life means 'taking the bull by the horns,' obeying his commanding officer, and serving with absolute selflessness. Tommy tries to persuade her husband to reconsider his decision to reject a life in business but Sam says: "that's no kind of life for a man. Hell, they [stocks and bonds] aren't even real" (Myrer 437). After Pearl Harbor, Sam accuses American businessmen of selling the Japanese weapons before the war, just to make a profit. Unlike businessmen, Sam places his country first, above money but also above his family life, a decision which ultimately causes him great pain. Eventually, alienated from Tommy, Sam takes refuge in the arms of a mistress. Tommy grows especially embittered after the couple's son dies in combat. Sam's plain-spoken quality and ability to rise through the ranks based upon his military insight and...

Sam only has respect for men who fight, like Colonel Lin Tso-han, whom he meets with in China during the 1930s, helping the resistance against the Japanese invasion. Sam has no respect for men who quote military textbooks and long-ago history like Massengale and shy away from real service. Massengale wins fame and glory with overly complicated battle plans that win him promotions, but cost too many lives, including the life of the Damon's son. The book ends, not with the triumph of Sam over Massengale (although he does persuade the army to abandon one of Massengale's more absurd and dangerous plans, at the book's climax) but of Sam returning to service in Vietnam. Although the book is not explicitly anti-Vietnam, it does take a stand against classic-conscious attitudes and racism of the U.S. Army in the persona of Massengale, and presents the army as a life that is a demanding mistress, and can accept no divided loyalties.
Work cited

Myrer, Anton. Once an Eagle. New York: Harper Collins, 2001.