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Deaths Of War In All The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

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Deaths of War

No one ever thinks about what a soldier goes through when they lose someone from their platoon during a war. The emotional and physical burden a death brings, as shown in All the Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, can bring out the guilt and fear in a young man, who was thrown into a war.
The first death witnessed in Tim O’Briens platoon was Ted Lavender. This was when the war started to feel real for everyone, including Lt. Cross: “Lieutenant Cross found himself trembling. He tried not to cry….. He felt shame. He hated himself” (O’Brien 16). Lieutenant Cross was never properly trained, resulting in an inadequate leader. Lavender's death didn’t result in only pain and suffering, it was also inspiring: “He was now determined to perform his duties firmly and without negligence… He would be careful to end flank security…. He would accept the blame for what happened to Ted Lavender” (O’Brien 24). As painful as Lavender's death …show more content…

Lavender's death may have been the realization everyone needed, but Kiowa’s death had the most effect on everyone: “Kiowa was gone. He was under the mud and water, folded in with the war, and their only thought was to find him and dig him out, then move on to somewhere warm and dry” (O’Brien 109). Kiowa meant so much to his platoon that they stopped fighting the war temporarily to find their friend, and give him the proper burial he deserved, after they overcame the guilt and responsibility for Kiowa’s death. The toll of Kiowa’s death affected everyone, but affected O’Brien most. “In a way, maybe, I’d gone under with Kiowa, and now after two decades I’d mostly worked my way out (O’Brien 178). Kiowa was O’Brien’s closest friend in Vietnam, making his death extremely difficult, and guilt ridden; 20 years later, O’Brien finally forgives himself and accepts the ending. Death is never serene, and it will never get any easier, but grief can, and

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