Personal Narrative: My First Vietnam War

As a new British soldier, the war was a very scary experience, even if we were told that this was the greatest army in the world going against the weakest army around. The Americans had built a ditch of some sorts to hide in during the battle, only popping out every few seconds to fire their guns in our direction. We, of course, fired back but were behind and quickly falling since we had always been taught to load our muskets. Which weren’t even used for battle, accurately not quickly, which the Americans were keen in. I watched in horror as soldiers around me fell to the ground with bullet wounds in their chest, legs, head, and every disturbing and painful place you can imagine. These men were men that I knew, men who have told their life stories to me, telling me about their wives and children

I had never liked being in the British army and certainly wasn’t ready to die for them, so I knew this war had to end. I had a wife, and two children on the way. I couldn’t just die and abandon them. I quickly ran over to another soldier, “We have to surrender!” I shouted, looking at him with complete fear in my eyes. The soldier looked at me in shock, as if to say, “Why would the all mighty British army surrender to its former weak colonies?” Suddenly, a bullet flew past our faces and into the man behind us. We blinked as he fell to the ground with a yell. I turned to look at the other soldier and quickly nodded at him, signaling that this had to end and had to end now. He gulped before nodding and running off towards a British officer. I watched him before feeling a hard shove to the chest, and quickly looked down to see a man leaning against me, blood spewing from a wound in his stomach. I flinched and quickly helped the man to the ground, staring at him in fear and confusion as I saw the life drain from his brown eyes. I knew this kid. He was a young soldier, only twenty years young… He had his whole life ahead of him, but it was taken away by one single