Restrepo: American Soldiers In The Korengal Valley

War has always existed. Although the purpose of war varies, the outcome is the same; many lives are changed and ruined. War is often used to gain power, resources, and land, but it disregards the lives of those fighting the fight. Martin Luther King stated, “The past is prophetic in that it asserts loudly that wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows.” In three selections, “Medevac Missions,” “A Journey Taken with my Son,” and “At Lowe’s Home Improvement Center,” readers come to understand the truths of wars’ impact on the lives of those surrounding the soldier. Their friends change, their physical and psychological states change, but the hardest truth is adjusting to life back at home. Soldiers experience many life changes during active

To be engaged in war is to be engaged in an armed conflict. Death is an all too ordinary product of war. It is an unsolicited reward for many soldiers that are fighting for their country’s own fictitious freedom. For some of these men, the battlefield is a glimpse into hell, and for others, it is a means to heaven. Many people worry about what happens during war and what will become of their loved ones while they’re fighting, but few realize what happens to those soldiers once they come home. The short stories "Soldier's Home” by Ernest Hemingway and "Speaking of Courage” by Tim O'Brien explore the thematic after effects of war and how it impacts a young person's life. Young people who

The rambunctious behavior of the soldier’s triumphant victory is a strong message visually for the viewer. These soldiers struggle to find their identity and once the war ends, the identity they’ve build at war vanishes, (McCutcheon, 2007). As a result, they essentially lose a part of them selves, (McCutcheon, 2007). When they return home, many soldiers struggle with psychological issues that prevent them from resuming their once regular lives, (McCutcheon, 2007). The images of soldiers celebrating at the end of war give the viewer a taste of this problem. This also allows the viewer insight to the deeper issues surrounding an American soldier’s mental stability and mentality. Through this image, along with many others throughout the film, the viewer is able to dig deeper and truly analyze what they are seeing.

The literacy work of John Steinbeck shows how soldier won’t talk about their experience in war. Soldiers often have a difficult time cultivating with society after coming back. Steinbeck uses imagery to show what they face in the battlefield. He describes “their body and mind are so disturbed” and their “eardrums are tortured by blast and the eye ache from the constant hammering.”(18) To explain, the imagery shows soldiers face violent and chaotic attacks on the field leading them to be desensitize. The narrator also says, “At first your ears hurt, but then they become dull and all your

It’s no surprise that soldiers will more-than-likely never come home the same. Those who have not served do not often think of the torment and negative consequences that the soldiers who make it out of war face. Erich Remarque was someone who was able to take the torment that he faced after his experience in World War I and shed light on the brutality of war. Remarque was able to illustrate the psychological problems that was experienced by men in battle with his best-selling novel All Quiet on the Western Front (Hunt). The symbolism used in the classic anti-war novel All Quiet on the Western Front is significant not only for showing citizens the negative attributes of war, but also the mental, physical, and emotional impact that the vicious war had on the soldiers.

Penned during two distinctly disparate eras in American military history, both Erich Maria Remarque's bleak account of trench warfare during World War I, All Quiet on the Western Front, and Tim O'Brien's haunting elegy for a generation lost in the jungles of Vietnam, The Man I Killed, present readers with a stark reminder that beneath the veneer of glorious battle lies only suffering and death. Both authors imbue their work with a grim severity, presenting the reality of war as it truly exists. Men inflict grievous injuries on one another, breaking bodies and shattering lives, without ever truly knowing for what or whom they are fighting for. With their contributions to the genre of war literature, both Remarque and O'Brien have sought to lift the veil of vanity which, for so many wartime writers, perverts reality with patriotic fervor. In doing so, the authors manage to convey the true sacrifice of the conscripted soldier, the broken innocence which clouds a man's first kill, and the abandonment of one's identity which becomes necessary in order to kill again.

When most people of think of war, they generally think of the glorified aspects. Love and violence. Or perhaps their minds are drawn to an image of a soldier’s homecoming: A father embracing his son, crying tears of joy, all while the solider relays his experiences of the war among celebratory decorations. He is now considered a hero. But what difficulties has he faced to get there? This is the side of war that many of us don’t recognize. In the memoir, A Long Way Gone, author and protagonist, Ishmael Beah, experiences civil war and its effects first hand when he is forced into becoming a child soldier in the poor third world country of Sierra Leone. As the novel progresses, Ishmael becomes increasingly addicted to drugs,

Watching Restrepo, it all begins to make sense...no, not the war itself, but the war's impact on the soldiers whose lives will be forever changed by this experience. Restrepo takes us along for the soldier's exhilaration during a firefight and, as well, the emotional depths of watching their fallen brothers after a tragic ambush. Even if you are a staunch anti-Afghanistan pacifist, Restrepo will undoubtedly serve as a powerful reminder that in the process of condemning war we must always be mindful of these men and women who are fighting.

and future. The war was a wake up call to them since they came with

This is an essay on the short story “Soldier’s Home” by Hemingway. Will the life of a soldier ever be the same after returning from war? Many generations of young adults have gone from their homes with tranquil settings to experience war and come home to a different world. Many have witnessed the devastations and atrocities that occur with war. Harold Krebs, a young man from a small town with a loving family is no different from those before him and those to follow. The anguish of what war is however cannot dispel the thoughts and memories of what many young men come home to face in the real world. Many have trouble coping in the new world known as home.

“Holy shit we’re not ready for this” Aaron HijarTim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger 2010 award -winning documentary film Restrepo: One Platoon, One Valley, One Year, chronicle one year of the Second Platoon, Battle Company branch of the United States Army ; during their station at the Korangal Valley and the impact it had on them. The film opens with a bunch of joyful soldiers a week before deployment and attitudes within the plane are ecstatic and full of youthful naivety and optimism but as the film progresses and as we are introduced to the Korangal Valley, those bright smiles are soon replaced with frowns. This is the effects of war, the one that is not often talked about nor acknowledge.“Nobody going to help you, you’re in no man land” JonesThe films itself was difficult to watch, because you read so much about the war in both print and digital media but at the end of the day it’s all words. Hollywood depiction of “war” is often over-glamorized, and doesn’t show the real nitty-gritty and the emotional strain that soldiers face. This film was brutally honest and refreshing because it was shot from the POV of soldiers as they went about their daily life. The film is candid and doesn’t pull its punches it showcases real footage of soldiers handling automatic weapons, quasi-problem solving and just lying around relaxing. It isn’t a thriller that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat nor is meant to be. Its real life and sometimes it can be disturbing, amusing and violent. The films also address the language and culture barrier that exist that often time isn’t present in literature or Hollywood movies. There are a few subtitles shown throughout the film , and there isn’t any Hollywood makeup artist on standby to smear dirt on the faces of the troops to give them a more “harden” look; this is real and it’s unsettling. It forces us to analyze the impact of war on an individual and the necessity of war and our definition of “security threat”, if we apply that definition too haphazardly we risk turning friend into a foe and increasing underlying animosity but if we loosen our definition it’s a sure death.“I’m going to die here” CortezThe most poignant scene in the documentary was “Operation Rock Avalanche” which

Since the beginning of time, humans have sought after power and control. It is human instinct to desire to be the undisputed champion, but when does it become a problem? Warfare has been practiced throughout civilization as a way to justify power. Though the orders come directly from one man, thousands of men and women pay the ultimate sacrifice. In Randall Jerrell’s “The Death of a Ball Turret Gunner”, Jarrell is commenting on the brutality of warfare. Not only does Jarrell address the tragedies of war, he also blames politics, war leaders, and the soldier’s acknowledgement of his duties. (Hill 6) With only five lines of text, his poems allows the reader to understand what a soldier can go through. With the use of Jerrell’s poem, The Vietnam War, and Brian Turner’s “Ameriki Jundee”, the truth of combat will be revealed.

In this essay, I will discuss how Tim O’Brien’s works “The Things They Carried” and “If I Die in a Combat Zone” reveal the individual human stories that are lost in war. In “The Things They Carried” O’Brien reveals the war stories of Alpha Company and shows how human each soldier is. In “If I Die in a Combat Zone” O’Brien tells his story with clarity, little of the dreamlike quality of “Things They Carried” is in this earlier work, which uses more blunt language that doesn’t hold back. In “If I Die” O’Brien reveals his own personal journey through war and what he experienced. O’Brien’s works prove a point that men, humans fight wars, not ideas. Phil Klay’s novel “Redeployment” is another novel that attempts to humanize soldiers in war. “Redeployment” is an anthology series, each chapter attempts to let us in the head of a new character – set in Afghanistan or in the United States – that is struggling with the current troubles of war. With the help of Phil Klay’s novel I will show how O’Brien’s works illustrate and highlight each story that make a war.

filmed about a U.S. platoon stationed in Korengal Valley of eastern Afghanistan – considered one of the most dangerous postings of the war. The soldiers of the Second Platoon built an outpost that they named 'Restrepo,' in honor of the first soldier on their deployment to die, their PFC (private first class) Juan Restrepo, who was killed in action. Juan was not only a leader to many of the men, he brought laughter and positive energy at a time they all needed. The movie Restrepo captures the physical trauma and psychological torment proving 'War is Hell’ , regardless of which flag you fight under. The movie reflects on the struggles of the men fighting for the U.S and also the people living in the war zone.

Fear, strength, and courage. This is what the film Restrepo consists of while displaying the everyday lives of men in what is considered the most dangerous postings in the U.S Military (Hetherington, Junger 2009). A 90-minute documentary of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley, fighting each day to protect themselves and our country. With the mass amount of violence, it portrays, it is hard to not feel fear while watching it. Fear for the soldiers, innocent people of the area, and fear for our country as a whole.