Coming to terms with Henry Kissinger's legacy—it's complicated

Over his century on Earth, Henry Kissinger left a big mark; love him, or hate him. And a lot of people sure did hate him.

- Clarence Page

Take Anthony Bourdain. The late celebrity chef and TV personality is back in the public eye with the reminders of his long-ago takedown of Kissinger, who died Wednesday at age 100. But when I think of the Vietnam War veterans I know who share his opinion, Bourdain wasn’t very far out on a limb either.

“Henry Kissinger walks into a bar,” Bourdain once asked guests as they appeared on an episode of his “Parts Unknown” TV program. “Would it displease you if I walked over and punched Henry Kissinger in the face?”

Harsh. But not an unheard-of sentiment when it came to Kissinger. Bourdain died by suicide in 2018 after spending time in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, among the more than 80 countries to which his career took him. He made no secret of his disdain for Kissinger based on the damage left behind by America’s war in Vietnam.

“Once you’ve been to Cambodia, you’ll never stop wanting to beat Henry Kissinger to death with your bare hands,” Bourdain wrote in his 2001 memoir, “A Cook’s Tour: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines.”

Still, it’s not quite that simple. It must be said that Kissinger’s legacy is complicated. As some of my surviving Vietnam-era Army buddies would say, right or wrong, a lot of the hate stirred up against Kissinger was just the sad price of being associated with an unpopular war.