Essay About Moving Away From Vietnam

In this essay we will cover three topics centered around Vietnam Prisoners of War and will discuss two books that are, in ways, very similar, but very different due to a variety of things. One of the two books being compared in this essay is titled “Defiance” by Alvin Townley and was written quite recently in 2014. The other novel that was chosen for this essay was written in 1971 is titled “Five Years to Freedom” and it was written by James N. Rowe. These two books were focused on the capture and the treatment of American Prisoners of War during the Vietnam War, more specifically based on the lives of each of the men as they meet up in the prison camps and have to survive torture which was brought upon them because they are questioned by the Vietcong and will not give up military secrets. The Vietnam War started in 1954 and ended on April 30, 1975 totaling over twenty years. Each book has its idea of the incidents that happened and in “Defiance” there are several stories of a gang eleven American soldiers that was known famously as the Alcatraz Eleven. This essay will talk about the different accounts the American men endured, the two very different writing styles of each of the authors and the main themes we can see in each book.

Growing up without parents is a rough task, but growing up without parents amongst a raging war is absurd. Having to run and hide in fear as your village is raided by North Vietnam soldiers is something no one should have to experience, but to those such as my dad, who has experienced this, it can be terrorizing. My dad grew up in the little town of Long Cheng, Laos living day to day struggling to survive. Living conditions for the lower class in Laos was already harsh enough, but when the Vietnam War broke out in 1961 these conditions got even worse. My father and many other Hmongs in Laos were in great danger of the communist armies.

The author, Tim O'Brien, is writing about an experience of a tour in the Vietnam conflict. This short story deals with inner conflicts of some individual soldiers and how they chose to deal with the realities of the Vietnam conflict, each in their own individual way as men, as soldiers.

For countless of people today, the Vietnam war is just something from the past, but for Tim O’Brien, the Vietnam War will endlessly be with him. This one year in Vietnam changes the lives of this platoon from emotional pain, physical pain, as well as muscle pain will commence to cloud their vision. The weight of the things that they carried takes great effect on them that they have to continue to endure on this one year trip in Vietnam and remember these memories for the rest of their lives..

It all began in 1968, when Tim O'brien receive a draft notice. Tim was bound for Harvard and thinks he’s too good for war. He doesn’t really want to go to Vietnam, so he decide to run away to Canada which he knew was wrong. When he got to Canada, he finds an old resort called the Tip Top Lodge. Its owner was Elroy Berdahl who O’brien says saved his life. O’Brien stays there for six days. On the last day, Elroy takes O’brien fishing in the rainy river. Elroy stopped within swimming distance to Minnesota and O’brien was faced with dilemma: jump and swim or stay. He started crying and on the other side, he sees hallucination of his family, and friends. He was too scared to jump, so Elroy steers back to the lodge. He left the next morning, drove back home, and heads to Vietnam.

Based on Uong experience, fleeing into America was not an easy journey. “Those who escaped death by drowning had to endure multiple robberies, rape, or assault at the hands of the Thai pirates (an estimate two-thirds of boats were raided)” (Cao 6). Due to complications, there were individuals who were not able to flee the country by boat. “Those who did not flee the country via the seas escaped Vietnam by dangerous land routes through Cambodia to Thailand” (Cao 7). As for Uong experience, he escaped Vietnam very easily. “It was April 30, 1975, and Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, was under siege. I was 10, the youngest of eight children” (Uong 1). Only being 10 years old, he was forced to run away from home in order to search for a better life. Hoping that he and his siblings would make it to safety, Uong parents told them to leave. Uong stated, “My parents, hoping to get us away from the chaos, told my brothers and sister to get on our bikes and ride away. When things calmed down, they said, we should come back” (Uong 2). After they had ridden away, they were able to see a “small South Vietnamese navy ship

I have learned a lot about what life was like at the time of the Vietnam War by interviewing my grandfather. My grandfather, Franklin Torr, was living in Dover, NH at the time, in his late thirties, married, and had three young children. The Vietnam War impacted my grandfather’s life in a unique way. One aspect of his life that changed at the start of the war was that a lot of his tenants, in the mobile home he owned, were in the New Hampshire National Guard and were stationed in Vietnam, flying missions, and some were advisors. He said the following about them; “Of the tenants that fought in the war, they thought they were doing the right thing at the time” When asked if he could provide a story of one of his Vietnam War veterans, he said that not a lot of them liked to talk about their war experiences in depth, two of his tenants that served in Vietnam died in Vietnam. One of his former classmates was a Marine Colonel, one thing he remembers this man mentioning was; “the troops did a great job while they were there”. The most shocking thing that he remembers from this

He asked these questions to find out why his mother doesn 't want to join the noble cause. In doing so, Nguyen thoroughly displayed his willingness to help fight the Communists. This passion stemmed from his adoption of American patriotism, which perpetuates the notion that Communism should be eradicated. This patriotism sets the foundations as something for him to become attached to as an American. However, his parents’ views about the fight conflicted with those of Nguyen. His mother objected by saying, “The war’s over” (53). Committed to being a pacifist of the Vietnam War, she showed disinterest towards the cause. His father takes a different stance by saying , “The war may be over ... but paying a little hush money would make our lives a lot easier” (53). Nguyen’s father neither denies nor confirms whether the war is over. However, the fact that he is not fully supporting the cause against Communism meant that his father also disagreed with Nguyen. Seeing his parents’ reluctance towards the war effort caused Nguyen to be outraged. The parents’ pacifist position challenged Nguyen’s dedication to being a patriot. As such, he doubts where he truly stands on this subject matter.

It is highly debatable for what the reasons were for the Vietnam War beginning but for the most part the reason was to stop the spread of communism. Communism was on the rise and

This shows the effects of the Vietnam War and how it can cause separation between the family not just physically but also mentally.

We are there because we have a promise to keep. Since 1954 every American President has offered support to the people of South Viet-Nam. We have helped to build, and we have helped to defend. Thus, over many years, we have made a national pledge to help South Viet-Nam defend its independence. And I intend to keep that promise...

Leonardo Vasquez (Grandfather): He decided to be in The Vietnam War because he wanted to do something adventurous and to experience something different.

For over centuries, the only form of punishment and discouragement for humans is through the prison system. Because of this, these humans or inmates, are sentenced to spend a significant part of their life in a confined, small room. With that being said, the prison life can leave a remarkable toll on the inmates life in many different categories. The first and arguably most important comes in the form of mental health. Living in prison with have a great impact on the psychological part of your life. For example, The prison life is a very much different way of life than what us “normal” humans are accustomed to living in our society. Once that inmate takes their first step inside their new society, their whole mindset on how to live and communicate changes. The inmate’s psychological beliefs about what is right and wrong are in questioned as well as everything else they learned in the outside world. In a way, prison is a never ending mind game you are playing against yourself with no chance of wining. Other than the mental aspect of prison, family plays a very important role in an inmate’s sentence. Family can be the “make it or break it” deal for a lot of inmates. It is often said that “when a person gets sentenced to prison, the whole family serves the sentence.” Well, for many inmates that is the exact case. While that prisoner serves their time behind bars, their family is on the outside waiting in anticipation for their loved ones to be released. In a way, the families

I, Tien Nguyen, for as long as I could remembered was born in Vietnam in the small suburban called Phan Thiet. Being the oldest child at the time, I was often spoiled by my parents as much as possible and at the age of 2, we ventured off to the United State. Living in the Wichita, Kansas was not easy, the weather had a detrimental effect on my father as he was not yet accustomed to the cold ambiance. However, even throughout that struggle, my father managed to work and on August 16, 2004, I received a little brother by the name of Thang Ngoc Nguyen.

When the North Vietnamese Communists won the Vietnam War on April 30, 1975, I became a prisoner of that war. So I looked for a way to come to the United States of America.