War Has Affected My View Of War

When the men was wounded, and showed weakness the platoon leader gave comfort while getting him the help he needed. And when he wanted to hold another soldier’s hand, no judgment was given, just a hand and consolation. A strong bond had to be there, in the jungle among the grunts to save lives and stop one another from going crazy, as they only had each other.

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

They carry many things, they carry a massive amount of weight on their shoulders. However, the heaviest thing that they carry cannot be touched. The intangible weight of fear, loss, anger, and guilt far outweigh any tangible item that they could possibly possess. The Thing They Carried is not only an eye-opening collection of war stories, but it is also a love story, a memoir, and a tribute to the unimaginable things that happen to our soldiers in war zones. War changes men, makes them different, and when they come home they are not the same person and they often have trouble readjusting to the life of a civilian.

In The Things They Carried there are some moments of love and some moments of many other emotions far too many to account for. Jimmy Cross one of the soldiers in the platoon use to carry around a love letter. This “love” letter was from his beloved Martha. His love for Martha was unrequited to say the least however that’s not why he carried this letter full of regret. He carried it so no matter how long the war waged on he would never forget that there was a better place in the world then where he was at right now smelling napalm in the morning or smelling the sweet smell of gunpowder in the air. Although his mind never wavered from the thought of seeing Martha many soldiers who come back their minds never seem to leave the treacherous place called Vietnam. “I almost won the silver star,” these statements made by returned soldiers just prove to me and those who have spoken to them that they haven't forgotten the war. There minds forever wavering in the air over the battlefield thinking about what they had almost achieved during the

To summarize (Kaplow, Layne, Saltztman, Cozza & Pynoos, 2013, p. 322-340) this article looks at how grief through exposure to loss due to combat fights, loss of fellow unit members, or the loss of a service member can affect a service member or military family during deployment and reintegration phases. The article goes on to discuss some of the stresses that can increase due to deployments such as martial conflicts, abuse or neglect, and mental health problems stemming from both spouses or children. More military children function equally as well as their civilian counterparts, except during times of deployment where they experience more emotional and behavioral problems. The article looks at three key areas Separation distress characterized as missing the deceased. Existential/Identity Distress finding meaning or fulfillment, or taking on roles left by the deceased. Circumstance-Related Distress characterized as emotional pain brought on by how the deceased passed. The article furthermore looks into how the age of the military children plays into their separation distress. Followed by their existential/identity Distress may be disrupted by new

There is no doubt that when war occurs, every single human being is affected by it even if it is just a little. In the novel, “All Quiet on the Western Front” written by Erich Maria Remarque, a group of teenage men, who also appear to by classmates, are in the German army of World War I because they have chosen to leave their adolescence at home and school for grown up work at the army. Throughout this fictional novel, they face many challenges that result in them not seeing each other ever again because of death. War affects individuals by leaving behind necessities such as education or jobs, not being able to watch over others such as their health, and injuries that soldiers receive while they are at war.

Society’s perception on war is often clouded by popular media. Action packed movies with fictional war heroes, and video games set in past wars, are examples of such hyperbole. It is outlets like these that raise society’s expectations of soldiers into unrealistic ideas. While it may seem as black and white as killing the bad guy, majority of the population does not consider the long term effects war may have on soldiers. Most movies portray soldiers as emotionless killing machines and leave out the lifelong psychological effects war can have on a person. Tim O’Brien’s book The Things They Carried is a look into the mind of a soldier in the middle of war. In the book, we learn of First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, a soldier who is carrying the guilt

equation. When soldiers feel they are being taken care of, they can focus on their goals

In my interview with Steve McHale a veteran from the Operation Iraqi Freedom talked about how powerful communication can be. He said that whenever a soldier died all their communication was cut off. When I asked McHale “What was something that impacted you during war” he answered “ A lot of things are probably the worst was when you're off and on the phone or a computer end it gets cut off because one of your brothers in the arms died. all communication outside the country Get it off until the family of the service member are notify through proper channels.” (McHale). This shows that even though they are close to the other men in their rank they still want to talk to their families. Even though they cannot see their family in person they still want to talk to them because their family give them happiness. The problem about not having good communication is that families don't know how to help you. Rat Kiley the medic from O’Brien rank. Was talking to the other men about the girls back home and he said “they’ll never understand any of this, not in a billion years.Try to tell them about it, they’ll just stare at you with those big round eyes”(O’Brien 108). When soldiers come back home people don't know how to treat them and when they tell war stories the are shocked. Nobody knows what to say to them. In conclusion being able to not communicate can affect

War has tremendous effects on the human mind and impacts all parties involved. Remnants of war can dramatically affect relationships with loved ones and create greater problems ranging from financial problems to psychological damage that has more profound effects on the family infrastructure and its operation. The notion of war produces pressures and strains on the family that is not experienced everyday in the routine family life. Family member who experience PTSD from their service in the military also places unforeseen weights and consequences for the family to carry. There are specific effects distinct to a parent, a spouse, and children when a loved one is serving their country. The relationships between a service men and these family members are transformed with the absence and their reintegration.

Have you ever been to war? Do you know someone who has? Do you know that war changes people, both soldiers and their families? Paul Fleischman's historical fiction novel, Bull Run, the poem, “Faded Coat of Blue,” by J. H. McNaughton, and Suzanne Collins futuristic novel, Hunger Games, all represent the theme that war changes people, whether they have been in the heat of battle, or not.

War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, written by the talented author Chris Hedges, gives us provoking thoughts that are somewhat painful to read but at the same time are quite personal confessions. Chris Hedges, a talented journalist to say the least, brings nearly 15 years of being a foreign correspondent to this book and subjectively concludes how all of his world experiences tie together. Throughout his book, he unifies themes present in all wars he experienced first hand. The most important themes I was able to draw from this book were, war skews reality, dominates culture, seduces society with its heroic attributes, distorts memory, and supports a cause, and allures us by a

Relationships for many are hard, rather they are long distance or not, but become even more complicated when the military is introduced into it. Being in a relationship with someone in the military can be hard, rather it is the waiting or distance, or the patience and strength that the relationship gains. Many military relationships end up not working out, but with some patience and persistence they can, if there is a want to. They can grow thanks to the military, or they can disappear. Many relationships don’t make it with time, but if they do they become stronger and gain a special bond (Vandevoorde 12). For so many, the troublesome times are worth it to be with the person that they love and want to spend their life with, for some, it is too much no matter how much they love each other and decide it is better to move on. For the people that want to stay in the relationship and spend their time together, it is a hard but satisfying.

Coming home can be a very emotional time for the soldiers themselves as well as the family. F. Scott states “Its’s a funny thing about coming home. Looks the same, feels the same, smells the same. You realize what has changed is you.” This quote shows what it’s like to return home and notice what has remained constant and what has altered. Also “In a way you are doing things that you have done many times before, but it has become completely foreign to you. When you see your wife she is unfamiliar to you. When you first see her (…) her hair has changed or she has new interests. It kinda feels like a first date (…) (Davis, “How Do Military Veterans Feel When They Return Home from Combat”). Here Davis is trying to describe the effort to fit in again, like changing from a school to another then back to the first; but instead of random people it’s your family. Many things become unknown and many things have switched. From the people you know to who you used to know. Davis also says “When returning home you often don’t mesh well with your family. They do things you don’t understand (…) mostly because they have grown very independent