Veterans After Vietnam War Essay

In the book “The Things They Carried”, Tim O’Brien admits to killing only one man during his war career, and relays it in the chapter “The Man I Killed”. In this chapter, O’Brien surveys the mangled body of the Vietnamese man he has just murdered, and desperately attempts to humanize the dead man as a coping method for his guilt. The chapter embodies a unique, and extremely detailed repetitive writing style which serves as a symbol of O’Brien’s scrutiny over his irrevocable action. The chapter begins with an exceptionally detailed description of the Vietnamese soldier’s body, as O’Brien surveys his destruction.

The Things They Carried, written by Tim O’Brien, illustrates the experiences of a man and his comrades throughout the war in Vietnam. Tim O’Brien actually served in the war, so he had a phenomenal background when it came to telling the true story about the war. In his novel, Tim O’Brien uses imagery to portray every necessary detail about the war and provide the reader with a true depiction of the war in Vietnam. O’Brien starts out the book by describing everything he and his comrades carry around with them during the war. Immediately once the book starts, so does his use of imagery.

Imagine being drafted to move thousands of miles away from the life you love to fight a war you hated. This is the unfortunate reality for Tim O’Brien In The Things They Carried. O’Brien explains his experiences of war in Vietnam, what it took to get him there, and his relationships with the other men in his platoon. He portrays guilt and pride through storytelling and intertwines the two by showing how the men often feel guilty for the actions they pursue or decisions they make based on their pride.

Regret is a powerful emotion that has the ability to scar someone for the rest of their life. Moments of regret can come from relationships, self-made decisions and life changing events. The idea of regret also applies to “A Marker on the Side of the Boat” by Bao Ninh and “On the Rainy River” by Tim O’Brien. Although these two literary pieces are very different in many ways, both authors describe the experience of the Vietnam War as a time of regretful decisions that negatively impacted people of both the American side and the Vietnamese side. Both authors tell a story about a character that recalls of flashbacks of the war, where they grieve over the past decisions that have affected them for the rest of their life.

Meaning of War Tim O 'brien wants readers to understand the meaning of war. His way of explaining war is by writing fictional short stories and giving speeches. Even though his stories are fictional they still contain the thoughts and feelings of war through the eyes of a soldier. The first topic is stress.

The chapter On the Rainy River is a depiction of what it is a like to get a draft notice. Tim O’Brien exemplifies the emotions a soldier goes through when they get a draft card. The feelings he wants the readers to feel is arguably the best depicted in this chapter. The story is believable, even when as a reader, we know it is not true, because the book is fiction. Tim O’Brien wants us to believe this story because he wants the reader to understand the emotion truth.

The potential problem is veterans are separating from the military and cannot not obtain employment in a reasonable amount of time. It is taking veterans six months or more to obtain a job after separating form the military. While many veterans chose to separate after their contract has ended, some are force to leave the military. The military is downsizing, which cause some to leave. In addition, some have been injured, where they have to be release from their military duties.

The amount of PTSD related suicides is unbelievable which is represented in the statistics. According to neuroscientists, “Since 2001 over 2.5 million troops have been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, many of whom have experienced direct combat and sustained threat estimates of PTSD rates related to these wars range from 8% to over 20%, or 192,000 to 480,000 individuals” (Wangelin, Tuerk 161). This is a shocking percentage to deal with in relation to the last large conflict that produced a large number of PTSD afflicted veterans, which was the Vietnam War at roughly 10% of veterans reporting PTSD related illness. In relation to these statistics, military suicide rates also doubled between 2001 and 2006, with more fatalities attributed to suicide

Veterans Day is distinct from most holidays. It is something that should hold true to everyone’s heart. No matter if you personally are a veteran or not, chances are you know someone that is. On November 11th, we celebrate all the wonderful things that military veterans have done for us in protecting our country. The United States set aside this day to honor our veterans, however we should honor them as much and as often as possible.

It's viciously cold, people are sick, hunger is spreading across all two thousand huts, and that’s just the beginning. Further on, I hear gunshots being fired while soldiers are marching. Its 1777 and the Revolutionary War just started and soldiers are already retreating. I stay here and protect the soldiers from enemies while disease, hunger, and cold spread. I know why I was made and how I will serve - sheltering these warriors is the most important objective I will do.