John Tzortzos Good Ideas

Going through an era when the Vietnam War was a smash hit in your town, many high school senior boys would be drafted out if their number was on the list of people. The men drafted had to leave behind their families and aspirations. Tim O’Brien uses different perspectives in The Things They Carried to show if something tragic happens in life, consequently dealing with it may be hard. Moving on will help in the future.

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

“I don’t feel so well” Jan’s father had suddenly said one morning at breakfast. Her father, a World War II veteran, stood up and went to go lie down. The rest of the family continued with their day. Michael went to see how his father was. When he tried to wake him his father didn’t respond or make a sound. The 11 year old boy was the one who first knew that his father was gone. The memory of her father’s loss is vivid in Jan’s mind. It was a substantial shock after he had survived the horrors of World War II and then just passed away quietly at home one morning. Jan now understands how

Due to the effects of war, Ha and her family were faced with countless challenges, turning their former lives and everything they had known “inside out.” The most significant of such effects can be seen through Ha’s father, who had left home to serve in the Vietnam war and never returned. Ha stated, “Father left home on a navy mission...He was captured...That’s all we know.” (Page 12) Ha lost her father to the war, and despite the brevity in which she had known him; it influenced her greatly. Growing up without her father left her lonely

War can be and has been proven to be a deeply scarring experience for many soldiers. Evidently, nothing can prepare them for warfare, seeing close friends die, and narrowly escaping death themselves. Yet, the worst part of it all is having to live with those memories for a lifetime and the inability to forget. “But the thing about remembering is that you don 't forget” (O’brien 34, 1998). The war which is fought in the minds of soldiers lasts a lifetime, and its effects stretch far beyond the actual battle that is being fought. War can significantly affect a soldier mentally, as seen in the novel “The things they carried” by Tim O 'brien, an interview with Richard Dlugoz, and the poem “Coming Home” by Joe Wheeler.

The year was 1945 September 2nd when the news came. Accordingly to the newspaper, our troops were coming home soon. Hitler and his troops surrendered and Hitler apparently assassinated himself. The day before was a normal barefoot day for me, running the cane poles on the old Messer Creek. Everywhere I went, was briar patches that were havoc on my feet. You could her the commotion for miles or yelling and cursing the sharp prickly little devils. I knew our troops were overseas fighting Hitler and his Nazis and I was proud of them because my daddy got drafted, I prayed for them every night before I went to bed. I didn’t know when my daddy would be back, but I knew it would be soon. I was the man of the house for over six years today. Putting meat on our table, making sure the garden is taken care of, and feeding and milking the animals, for six years exactly. I had to take place of my dad, that means chopping wood, checking and fixing fences, cutting cedar fence posts if the

Later that night, I was comforting Vinyl at the news she and I got today. We were lying in bed together, our bodies pressing up against each other as we held each other close; I caressed the area around her eyes, trying to help her sleep, hoping that it would dwindle the tension she had within

I gradually slowed from a run to a walk before coming to a complete stop. I started to listen to my heart instead of my mind as it was corrupted by a fear so profound that it made my blood run cold every time the thought arrived in my head. I never should have left my platoon. It was a mistake. They had always been there for me even when I didn’t think I needed them, but now when they needed me I let them all down. I knew I was weak and that’s why I had run away but it wasn’t my fault that I was here. It wasn’t my decision but the government and its conscription policy. What did the government know about fighting in a war? Why don’t they allow any of their children fight instead of someone else’s? I turned around and started heading back deeper into the jungle that I had come from.

David Coalson decided to enlist in the Marines only a month after his eighteenth birthday. “I wanted to be able to choose what I was going to do, rather than be told”, there was no end of the school year celebration this year. Coalson was going to something much worse, bootcamp. Bootcamp seemed to be forever but ended up flying by and before he knew it, he was shipped to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. There was problems going down in Cuba however nothing to what he was about to face. All these events, graduating, turning eighteen, bootcamp, and Guantanamo Bay went by as fast as they were listed to Coalson. The real challenge was on the horizon, a deadly jungle, Vietnam.

The year was 1954, Dan and Kendra had only been married for 5 months. They had been living in Waterloo, Iowa for 2 months when Dan was deployed to Vietnam. He loved being in the army because he was able to protect and defend his country. He only disliked when he was deployed because he didn’t know whether or not he would make it back home to his wife, but he knew what could happen and his wife told him that no matter what she would love him. Him joining would be a good thing in the long run she persisted. Now Dan and Kendra will have to wait until he comes back home to try anymore to have children.

Siobhan Fallon, has a Master of Fine Art from the New School in New York City in addition to being a military spouse, is the author of “You Know When the Men Are Gone” a short story collection book. In the short story “You Survived the War Now Survive the Homecoming” Fallon writes a gripping and enticing story about Carla and her beloved husband, Ted, who returns from war as a changed man. Carla is struggling with Ted because he is easily enraged and poses as a threat to Carla and their seven month year old child. Throughout the story Ted and Carla must work together to bridge the change that war brought upon them. In 2011 “You Know When the Men Are Gone” was published, during this time, the war in Iraq was coming to end and soldiers were returning home from deployment. Fallon’s primary audience consisted of American civilians unaffiliated with a military family or lifestyle. Therefore the audience may be aware of the life of a military spouse but not entirely informed on the effects war has on a family. This audience shares similar values on family, for example how important honesty and patience is within families. Although returning home is the most exuberant time for a soldier longing for their family, Fallon’s use of third person perspective in the short story “You Survived the War Now Survive the Homecoming” exemplifies the reality of Carla, the wife, dealing with the hardships of a returning soldier because adjusting back to normal civilian lifestyle seems unfeasible.

Not many people in society can empathize with those who have been in a war and have experienced war firsthand. Society is unaware that many individuals are taken away from their families to risk their lives serving in the war. Because of this, families are left to wonder if they will ever get to see their sons and daughters again. In a war, young men are taken away from their loved ones without a promise that they will get to see them again. The survivors come back with frightening memories of their traumatic experiences. Although some would argue that war affects families the most, authors, Tim O’Brien and Kenneth W. Bagby are able to convey the idea that war can negatively impact one’s self by causing this person long lasting emotional

July 13th 2015, I began a journey that changed entirety of myself for the better. I woke up that morning in the hotel room I was assigned; I’d been waiting and training for an entire year in anticipation of that day. I was finally on my way to Great Lakes, Illinois to attend Naval Bootcamp under contract to attend “Basic Underwater Demolition/Seal Class 317” afterwards. I was was only 19 but it felt as if I was coming straight out of high school. I’d never lived anywhere else other than with my mother in North Georgia, so leaving the state and starting a new life was a little odd. I remember July 12th when I got in the recruiting recruiting station’s van to take me to the hotel. I was trying so hard to be strong, yet I couldn't stop myself from tearing up once my mother was out of view. It was sad to leave her behind, but I was sure I had my life figured out

“Aw thanks dad, I really appreciate it, but in order to go to school I have to be clothed...” Riley awkwardly, but politely cajoled. Her dad exited her colorful room without unwillingness, so she wouldn’t start the morning off with an attitude like her identical twin brother, like Casey did when their dad wished him a happy birthday in his filthy room “to interrupt his sleep” as Casey would call it when he shouted at his dad. Like every morning, Riley gazed into the round mirror

When people think of the military, they often think about the time they spend over in another country, hoping they make it back alive. No one has ever considered the possibility that they may have died inside. Soldiers are reborn through war, often seeing through the eyes of someone else. In “Soldier’s home” by Ernest Hemingway, the author illustrates how a person who has been through war can change dramatically if enough time has passed. This story tells of a man named Harold (nick name: Krebs) who joined the marines and has finally come back after two years. Krebs is a lost man who feels it’s too complicated to adjust to the normal way of living and is pressured by his parents.