Capt. Lee Kelley's A Letter To The Republic

America is well known and hated across the globe for its involvement in foreign conflicts and affairs. The self proclaimed police of the world, America often goes too far when it comes to its involvement overseas. Many times the outcomes of these conflicts is overlooked and the effect it will have on america and other countries. Often times the American news media and politicians will claim that America 's goal is to bring freedom and liberty to other countries. However, this is a ploy to get the public on board and in reality war is used to make politicians and corporations richer. Tim O’Brien experienced this firsthand when he was shipped off to Vietnam in 1969. When he came back he finished his education at Harvard and was inspired to write a memoir about his experiences. “If I Die in a Combat Zone Box Me Up and Ship Me Home” tells his story as a foot soldier and the effects it had on himself and other soldiers physically, emotionally, and mentally. The books starts with O’Brien as a child playing war games and then moves to when he was drafted. In the bootcamp O’Brien had contemplated deserting but ultimately decided not to so that his family would not be disgraced. He was then sent off to Vietnam where he was placed in the Alpha company. O’Brien talks about things like his involvement in ambushes to his interactions with locals. With this piece O’Brien was trying to show the horrors of war and and how it affected the soldiers sent to fight in

This emotionally-powerful idea snags the attention of the reader and reiterates the theme that soldiers confront several obstacles. Once more, Alexander communicates, “In practice, November 11 is clouded with ambiguous symbolism, and has become our most awkward holiday.” This quote exposes the uncomfortable situations that a plethora of veterans find themselves in. The very holidays meant to honor these soldiers has suffocated them with the question, “Why come back alive when you could have died a hero?” By explaining the social pressures soldiers face, the author restated her claims of the adversity soldiers find themselves in. While both of these articles use ample pathos, they also use logos to support their claim.

Hey, how are you all doing out there ? Well, me I have just been trying to stay healthy and keep my head high so I can make it back to the only thing I have and that’s you all “my family”. I try not to think about you all too much because when I think about what's going on out there it makes me mad and I am so tired ‘’omg’’. We don't eat that much during war but when we get back to the base we eat pretty good, well actually really good. I notice that a lot of people donate food and medicine and first-aid kits too. I just got an Lee-Enfield rifle and it's a pretty nice gun, it can hold 10 bullets. I just been waiting to use it on, Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire against the Allied forces of Great Britain, and there are some

The main point of this article is about service members deployed specifically to Iraq and Afghanistan with back to back deployments and the stress factors that it produces on the families and the service members themselves.

author, an American soldier fighting in Iraq during the 21st century, writes an email to his

For the seventeen Soldiers portrayed in “The Things We Carried” by Tim O’Brien, the physical pain was very minimal weight to carry compared to the emotional scars that they will carry throughout their entire life. This story does an amazing job portraying full human emotion that anyone put into a situation would feel, such as heavy guilt, sadness, anger, lack of motivation, perseverance, horror, and false security. All of these are notorious feelings that every soldier back in history, and now still feel when they are on a mission. “The Things They carried” shows a deep vulnerability of everyday human’s thought process during times of great stress, that before, wasn’t considered by the general public and media when speaking about what it

The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”

“THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman” (Paine 155).

My reaction to this short story was one of sadness and fear. My husband is a soldier in the U.S. Army, and this short story resonates very personally with me. I hear war stories all time; from my husband, from his friends, and from the other Army wives. O’Brien’s stories and experiences remind me of all the other sad and horrific stories that I have heard. But what is even sadder is that those not

“The committee of five Congressmen stayed several weeks and was helpful in getting more food and clothing to the soldiers” (Powell 149). Valley Forge soldiers were pleased as the Congressmen supported us. We were full of pride when the Congress arrived at Valley Forge to provide us with more supplies and clothing. “These are the times that try men’s souls” (Paine 153). Soldiers are able to test our endurance. I left my home to sacrifice my time into the war. As soon as I got to camp, I looked around and saw that these soldiers looked happy (Powell 149). There could not be any other feeling to describe how joyful I felt when I got to camp. Seeing soldiers waving weapons in the air, soldiers cheering, and smiling was just an amazement to my eyes. Many of us were not well protected by clothing as the winter storm awaits. Valley Forge soldiers had high spirits, willing to fight (Waldo 151). Happy and supported soldiers around camp is causing me to

As the chapter continues, it paints more of the emotional burdens soldiers go through. Soldiers are known to be tough and because of this, they want to be tough. Soldiers do not want to show any sign of weakness that may make them appear inferior to the enemy or a fellow soldier. “They carried their reputations. They carried the soldier’s greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing” (20). Soldiers often put on a tough persona over who they truly are. This traps emotional pains inside of them that they do not freely express. This can often cause more problems to the soldier in the future where these emotions will flood out of them. All of these emotions that they trap within themselves because it is expected of them to be tough will eventually catch up to them and haunt them. It is not expected of them to show any sign of weakness. Soldiers truly go through hell, even more mentally than physically.

Often in the years following a war the notion of warfare is warped by common conceptions or cliches so that it no longer resembles the realities that the soldiers experienced. However, Tim O’Brien uses his own personal experiences from Vietnam to create stories which exhibit the real situations that these soldiers faced. The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien, demonstrates this unfiltered reality through multiple literary elements and the creation of fictional stories in order to portray the war accurately. Courage and valor are often associated with the idea of war and are often expected to be traits that all soldiers live by.

The soldiers face loneliness, isolation, the heavy burden of fear, and the weight of their reputations. The soldiers carry such a heavy weight from the past, in the present, and for the future. Even after the war, the psychological burdens the men carried during the war continues to define them. Those who survive the war carry guilt, grief, and confusion.

Numerous measures are undertaken throughout the course of a deployment in order to help CAF personnel cope with the psychological effects of their work. These measures extend beyond the scope of a tour of duty and includes processes to mitigate mental stress both before the deployment occurs, like pre-deployment training, as well as afterwards, like using decompression sites to minimize the risk of reverse culture shock upon returning home. Moreover, these measures are required in order to minimize the potential for soldiers to feel a loss of their military identity subsequent to returning

The wartime lives of the soldiers who fought in the war were in a state of mind of mixed feelings. Happiness and devastating are two adjectives that can describe the soldier’s feelings in the war because at one second they can be happy that they succeeded on a mission, but on the other hand, it can be very devastating because one of their own soldiers could have been killed during the war. Aside from physical danger losing one of your own soldiers or having your family worry about you every day and night are some negatives and unpleasant parts about fighting in a war. For example, soldiers loved ones worried each day, and hoped that they would not get a knock on their door by someone who was going to tell them that their fathers, husbands, sons, or brothers have died in the war.