Personal Narrative: An Interview With A Soldier In Vietnam

This chapter covers the transition of Mary Anne Bell, of how she changed from being a normal, sweet teenage girl to being one of the Green Berets, filled with enthusiasm for the war and intrigued with the culture of Vietnam. This message is about how the innocence of women is consumed by the war and how once they begin to learn more about it, they are hopelessly entranced by it, far from returning to their usual selves. Rat talks about how, “Anne made you think about those girls back home, how they'll never understand any of this, not in a billion years. Try and tell them about it, they’ll just stare at you with those big round candy eyes. They won't understand zip.”(O’Brien 108), and this shows that women won’t understand what Vietnam really is like, they have to experience it themselves. Women also won’t understand the grueling mental pain that soldiers experience in the war.

“War is hell, but that 's not the half of it, because war is also mystery and terror and adventure and courage and discovery and holiness and pity and despair and longing and love. War is nasty; war is fun. War is thrilling; war is drudgery. War is what makes you a man; war makes you dead.”In the autobiography “The things they Carried”author Tim O’Brien, gives his readers insight to the trials,horrors and romances of the Vietnam war.As a young man Mr.O’Brien was forced into the war by the Draft lottery a Selective Service System of the United States conducted to determine the order of call to military service in the Vietnam War for men born from 1944 to 1950. Entering into the Vietnam War Mr.O’Brien, knew he was neither prepared nor made for the harsh realities of armed combat.However after taking a life awakening journey to the Tip Top Inn Mr.O’Brien knew what he had to do, so he went to war.In the story “The things they Carried” Mr.O’Brien not only tells his account of the war but gives account to his fellow soilders version of the war like the young medic Marc Fossie who flew his high school sweetheart May Ann Bell to the base, transforming the book into a love story. Or when fellow soldier Curt Lemon dies and the story turns into somewhat of a shakespearean tragedy.Even when the War is over writer Tim O’brien explains to his audience about how savilians respond to his “war story” and how he told a true war stories are not about living in the moment but surviving for

When I first got put in the challenge program I was very scared. I only knew a handful of people and I didn’t know if it was the best fit for me. However, the past 4 years have proven me wrong. I would have been bored and in challenge when you have teachers like Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Hill, you wonder why you questioned yourself.

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

I was running around from tent to tent and it was chaos I was scared, but I needed to help the people that were hurt it was my job. As a German plane buzzed overhead I, nurse Helen Doyal dropped face down in the mud. As an American nurse serving at a British Army base hospital near the Western Front in 1918, it's my job to help the wounded people and soldiers who fight.

It was the day before it all happened, everyone knew that people were coming to fight and take all the men, in the refugee to go fight against us, we didn’t know what to do with my father. Once my father came back home we were so sad because we didn’t want our dad to leave us, so we were planning to hide my father, Aunt Betsy was telling us kids to go in the room because, my parents had to talk. So me (Sally) and my little 5 year old brother. My little brother (Michael) all he talked about was being a warrior which I didn’t like because, we were going to be a in a war, but I didn't mind because I knew he was little and really didn’t know what he wanted to be.

I sat in my room bored out of my mind. My last mission was a few days ago and since I’ve only flown once. I was getting the itch. I needed to fly. To kill. To do something other than sit here on my ass and deal with drunk French and American soldiers every night. Being the first woman to fly and the only woman soldier in this war, I had a hard enough time dealing with their horny, egotistical men comments. I don’t need them drunk too. I got up and walked to my brothers room.

Silence and darkness loomed over the room. Other than the occasional snore and bed creak, the room is silent, oblivious to the war that is being fought in Vietnam. Men are being ripped apart; their innards mercilessly pierced by the multitude of rounds penetrating through the air. One wrong move and suddenly, you’re soaking red, staining the garment around your torso and cementing your fate. But in this room, we were oblivious to such pains, such bloodshed. It was like if the war wasn’t even happening at all, isolating us from the pain and the death that would ultimately be subjected upon us. One of these days, we were going to be deployed, with almost ninety percent certainty that we would never see our families again. Ah, fuck it! I joined

On April 25, 1975, marked the end of an era for one country, but the cruel reality of a new beginning for many Vietnamese families. As the north communists were celebrating their victory, the south was in a panic to escape new order. Many families feared for their lives and were forced to make difficult decisions and sacrifices by leaving their whole life behind in hopes of starting a new life in another country. GB Tran is an American whose parents fled from Vietnam in order to escape communism. With no real knowledge of his family’s history pertaining to the Vietnam War, he finds himself unable to make a connection with his home country, and a deeper understanding of what sacrifices his parents made for their family. In this

If Philip Caputo’s memoir is meant to be the story of an American soldier, Trâm’s diary becomes the story of the Vietnamese people and their struggle. On May 7th 1970 Trâm recounts her feelings on the history of war in Vietnam, and how the people still remain undeterred. “Twenty-five years immersed in fire and bullets, we are still strong.” Not only after all this fighting and after all that Trâm herself has witnessed and endured she is still confident in her country. “We will persevere and be courageous and hold our heads high and take the offensive.” Trâm’s diary makes it clear that there was never any doubt in

Christmas arrived during my first week home after my discharge from the army. I had been stateside six months, and when I woke up, I felt like I lost my marbles. I mean I wondered if I was an addict, an alcoholic, or insane.

When in combat, you always check your surroundings first to make sure the enemy isn’t approaching, and to find a safe place from the weather or the enemy. When you find something like an abandoned farmhouse, it’s a Godsend. I quickly talked to Pierre, telling him about the house and what happened. His leg was clearly broken, and you could see the bone. There was still no time to waste, so I, again, left Pierre, and walked towards the house. As I approached the house, I crouched down. I listened to see if anyone was in the house, but it was completely empty. I walked in. The house was by no means luxurious or fancy, but it was shelter from the cold and dangers outside. The house had been abandoned for- I imagine- a good six weeks. There was

Most of my grandfathers had fought in wars. Two of them fought side by side in the Vietnam War and my great grandfathers took part in World War II. My great grandparents never lived to tell me their experiences at war. I doubt they would tell me, as the thoughts may bring back scarring memories they had hoped to forget.

Our story begins like any other love story out there. He is a country boy lives in the Midwest of the states, and I’m a city girl was born in Vietnam. One day, he decided to follow his dream, and move to Vietnam, and at the same time I had to leave my country to go to the states with my family. On that summer day in Vietnam, we ran into each other at the airport. A guy with the deep voice, looked into my eyes and asked if I was okay. Suddenly, my heart beat faster and I lost my mind for a second when I looked into his blue eyes. We had a short conversation, then say goodbye and walked in two different directions.

One sunny October morning I awoke to my Great Grandfather telling my brother a story. I asked him if he would please restart the story, And he did and this is what he said. I was in deep in the jungles of Vietnam on a top security mission. Deep undercover over enemy lines, His mission was to get some information about a securite weapon called an anti-aircraft self propelled system. It could take out an entire fleet of aircrafts with its extreme accuracy, and deadly range.