The cries of war come in different shapes and sizes. While Anthony Swofford cried most of his tears through his memoir, others who served in the Marine Corps during his time had found other ways to cry. In the Swofford’s memoir, Jarhead, he illustrates how one of his former comrades at war had handled the aftermath of service in the Marines during the Gulf War. “I asked him if maybe he should talk to someone at the Veterans Administration hospital, and he declined, insisting that they could not tell him anything he didn’t already know. Before we hung up, he said, “We fired the same rifle. You have the same problems as me.”” While Swofford seemed to be in good functioning condition, his old comrade Fergus seemed to have been struggling psychologically with the aftermath effects of the war. Fergus’ psychological issues seemed to be his own cry into the world outside of the Marine Corps. Swofford and all of his crew mates experienced the horrors…
Tim O’Brien an author and veteran thinking about Vietnam. As Tim O’Brien recollects and presents a story about animating the dead — the scene with the toast to the dead Vietnamese — another story within that story unfolds, O'Brien recollecting the death of his childhood friend, Linda. After O’Brien’s Platoon took sniper fire from a little village, Lt. Jimmy Cross got on the radio and ordered an airstrike. “When it ended, we formed into a loose line and swept through the village. It was all wreckage. I remember the smell of burnt straw; I remember broken fences and torn up trees and heaps of stone and brick and pottery. The place was deserted- no people, no animals- and the only confirmed kill was an old man who lay face-up near a pigpen at the center of the village” (p.225-226). O’Brien’s use of concrete diction helps the reader understand the innocence of the poor old man that had nothing to do with the war but was just carrying on his day like the usual and all of a sudden these soldiers showed up and decided his death with an air strike. As the soldiers swept through the village “They proposed toasts. They lifted their canteens and drank to the old man’s family and ancestors, his many grandchildren, his newfound life after death. It was more than mockery. There was a formality to it, like a funeral without the sadness.” (p.227). As the old man sat helplessly against the fence the soldiers continues to harass the innocent old man without any emotions due to the fact that he is dead. As dusk came closer Kiowa talked to O’Brien about what the soldiers had done was wrong. “ You did a good thing today, That shaking hands crap, it isn’t decent.” (p.227) O’Brien being the new and innocent soldier of his platoon was pressured to do something he did not want to but he chose not to because of his past experience with someone dear to him.…
When someone that you loved survived and your friends person that they loved died, you don’t know how to feel. Sad because your loved one died or happy that your friends loved one survived. This relates to the book Wounded by Eric Walters, were Marcus Campbell the protagonist and his friend Courtney have fathers both in the war in Afghanistan. They are both worried about their fathers after what they saw and heard on TV.…
As previously stated, the tone of McDonald’s poem, “My Father on His Shield” is one of mourning and grief. The speaker of the poem is grieving his father who he lost to battle and experiences struggles in coping with it all. McDonald’s details about the sled mentioned in the poem reflect the closeness that was once there between the speaker and his father, in addition to the level of importance the speaker’s father had in his life. The use of diction by McDonald also emphasizes the speaker’s mourning, often accompanied by nostalgia, by implicating the repetition of the words “I remember” throughout the poem. This constant remembrance expresses the speaker’s difficulty coming to terms with his father’s death.…
Many people, in some point in their lives will experience a death of a loved one and will try to cope with it as best as they can. In “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, O’Brien talks about his war stories and how he and the soldiers handled the deaths of the soldiers while at war. The soldiers had to deal with the stress, sadness, and guilt when seeing their partner get killed. O’Brien talks about the different coping mechanisms the soldiers use when facing the death of a fellow comadre. The soldiers tell jokes, write letters, tell stories, take responsibility of their death, and even reenact the death scene.…
The gas consumed his lungs growing tighter each second. Not even I could imagine the pain that was growing in him. The whites of his eyes glowed amongst the blood that was starting to evolve around the creases of his lips. His hand opening and closing, his fingertips searching for something to clasp onto to stop the pain… they fall upon the hem of my pants with a grip of an eagle. As he held my pants for his refuge the words he mumbled will never leave me. ‘Tel…tell them…tell them I said bye’. As his body became limp on my feet the words and noise of the other men became apparent again.…
Kenneth Slessor, author of Beach Burial, was the Australian Official Correspondent in El Alamein, the Middle East during WWII. The author drew from his own experiences to write Beach Burial, a poem about the aftermath of a battle during WWII. It is a realistic and somber tribute to soldiers of all nations that died in the war. It illustrates how they are all united by one common enemy; death. It breaks the conventional war poem structure, as it is not a celebration of heroes, and shows no nationalistic or patriotic devotion. Instead, Kenneth Slessor has written about how soldiers lose their identity in war. He has chosen to start the poem lulling the readers into a false sense of calm, and by understating the calamity, we slowly realize he is talking about the dead soldiers, whether it be allies or enemies, being united.…
Arriving home from school, being picked up by his neighbors, “At two o’ clock our neighbors drove me home”(3). He heard the devastating news that someone died in his family. Upon arriving home, “In the porch I met my crying father”(4), showed how death can causes so much trauma and confusion. His father crying,…
I had just arrived to my destination: Gallipoli, Turkey. As nervous as I was already with shivers down my spine nearly every minute I didn’t want to lose my young life tomorrow. It was a long ride but my troops and I were prepared for what could come our way. We jumped off the half sunken ship due to the enormous amount of soldiers. It was going to be a long and hard battle. The water we had to walk through to set up our camps was muddy and clumpy I was hoping I don’t get trench foot. Me, as the leader leaded on where we have to set up our camps. We set up our tents around the gruesome field of dead, yellow, sun dried grass next to the sandy rough hills. Rain had just started sprinkling and the next minute, hailing, it lit out our fire along with a deathlike thunderstorm. The dogs started howling under the glowing half-moon that gave us the only light left. I knew the next day only brought frightful visions of what will come to us tomorrow….…
“ you think that because I act strange, that we can talk and it will be all right”, his father said. ”That we can talk and it will just go away.That's what you think isn't it?”’ The father faced many obstacles that he was able to overcome as a result of having PTSD.…
The history of war is what many spend time reading about in textbooks. Few, however, experience war and all that it encompasses. David Leckie, a marine during World War II, uses his book, Helmet for My Pillow, to share with readers the truth of what it was like to be a soldier. Rather than skimming the surface of his time on Parris Island and the Pacific Islands, he goes into unmatched, excruciating detail; every trench dug, every shot fired, and every fallen soldier passed was recounted by Leckie. Setting this story apart from any other, the first-hand accounts of combat, unlikely descriptions of the day-to-day actions of the soldiers, and the heart that Leckie intertwines with each part of his story all combine to make this thought-provoking,…
Abelard rushed in with a wooden bat, with the most frightened look on his face. He told us to get in the corner behind a small closet door, but by the time my little sister had made it, it was too late.The dreaded German soldiers had already barged into the room. They grabbed Abelard, and he had a look of defeat on his face. They shot both my mother and father. I fell, my heart feeling like an elephant was on top of it. One of the soldiers came and hit me with his gun. I remember seeing Abelard jump out of the soldiers grip trying to block them from shooting my little sister, so they shot him.…
“He was captured in World War II and was put in a German controlled camp about a year. In order for him to get to the camp, though he had to walk days just to go to a train that lead to the camp. The only thing that was wrong though, was that he couldn’t walk. Both of his legs were broken and anyone who couldn’t walk were shot. Right before they had to leave, though a man picked him up and carried him for days. When they got to the camp, though the man that carried him disappeared and no one knew who that man was…
In the text “A soldier’s story: War affects whole family” the parents of Army Sergeant Ryan Kahlor express their recent opposition to the army, after their son’s traumatizing experience. Ryan Kahlor’s father explains he had felt a patriotic surge after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and had therefore been proud of his son joining the army. But his thoughts about the war already changed during Ryan’s first tour where he complained about ineffective body armour and poorly armoured vehicles. The war has left Ryan with a series of complications, both physical and psychological. He says that in combat there is no time to grieve, and when you see a friend die you just go back to work. And he explains that without the help from the National Center for PTSD, he’d probably be dead. But Ryan still suffers from survivor’s guilt and still has a lot to work on. Yet it seems that he doesn’t regret his time in the army because it has matured him and made him stronger and more confident. The only thing he has to say about the war, is that they are fighting for peoples’ right to speak out. His parents, however, wish that he had never gone in.…
The rain this morning pattered on the rooftop like the joyful tears running off my family’s face before I left. They were proud of me as I was going to fight for my country. I lie awake this morning staring at my name tag which says William Harding Bowyer on the front of it thinking about what was going to happen on my first day of training as a new recruit for the U.S. I want to train so I can become a paratrooper. I can't wait to jump out of the plane and fall into battle to defend my country. I just hope I survive because if I don't my family will be heart broken since I would never be able to see them again. “GET UP GET UP”, the General screamed so I jumped out of my bed and put my uniform on.…