Is the truth worth sacrificing for the sake of the "truth"?

Stories are meant to convey information, whether it be sensory information or emotional information. Yet, when the information is of an emotional nature, story writers have had problems conveying the emotions themselves as opposed to descriptions of the emotions. Thus, the following question arises: "What are you willing to sacrifice for the sake of the truth?"

Obviously, since this is a rather personal question, different people have had different answers. For example, Tim O'Brien, in his book The Things they Carried, successfully maintained verisimilitude. Yet he admits that most of the story was fake. Why?

Clearly, for Tim, the gut emotions of his war experiences amounted to more than the experiences themselves. Thus, for him, for the sake of the "truth," (his emotions) he sacrificed the truth (what actually happened). For example, in the chapter "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong," the entire incident including Mary Anne was highly unlikely, as no girl would be allowed into an American base in Vietnam. Yet, the core truth -- that war changes people and forces them back to their feral roots -- is enhanced by the deception.

This truth is seen in the real world, too. As areas formerly peaceful have become shaken by war, common civilians have both taken arms and used their skills to help others. For example, some civilians in war-torn Syria have created a homemade tank. It can be seen by following the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB1BDrFzFY0

Still, back to the point, Tim O'Brien was willing to sacrifice a lot for his "truth." His decision reflects on him as a writer and as a person. What would you sacrifice for the truth? Is information gathered by the senses worth more than information gleaned from experience? Let me know.