How to Tell a True War Story

"War is hell, but that's not the half of it, because was 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 makes you a man; war makes you dead" (pg 76).

This quote really stood out to me, because I think it is extremely true. Not only about war, but about life. The use of oxymoron after oxymoron gets the point across well. "War is nasty; war is fun." This part reminds me of the "shit field," which is disgusting beyond belief. It also makes me think of their stories. The soldiers love listening to each others stories while partying. "War is thrilling; war is drudgery." O'Brien later speaks of how he misses the action of the war and being part of the unit and the special bond that they share. He also talks about how miserable his pain in his butt is and how he can't sleep on his back anymore. "War makes you a man; war makes you dead." I have never heard war described so accurately before in my life. The valor of fighting for one's country makes one a man, but in the actual fighting, this man may be killed.

Friends

"Dave Jenson and Lee Strunk did not become instant buddies, but they did learn to trust each other" (pg 62).

I find this comical, because I totally understand this. This is a dumb example, but when my ex boyfriend started dating another girl, naturally, I hated her. We had a secret hate for each other, and did little things to show it. Petty, I know! But whatever; it happens to the best of us. In the end, he screwed her over too, so we both hated him. And we created a bond from that. We had a lot more in common than we thought. I mean it's not surprising that he would like similar girls, but we became friends. Sometimes people need to just stop worrying about stupid things on the surface, and eventually look deeper at more important things.

Enemies

"Something must've snapped. One afternoon he began firing his weapon into the air, yelling Strunk's name, just firing and yelling, and it didn't stop until he'd rattled off an entire magazine of ammunition" (pg 60).

The mood of this chapter is so intense that I feel like I am there. I feel like I can totally relate to the anger that he was feeling. Sometimes emotions are like a ticking bomb; eventually, they're going to explode. One can only keep things inside for so long, before they completely go crazy. I have witnessed this happen before in a different way. My friend kept having awful things happen to her, but she stayed strong and never let her pain show. Until one night we were sitting in my room, and she just started bawling uncontrollably. There was nothing I could do or say to make her stop. She just kept rambling on about everything. I was almost afraid to do anything just like O'Brien said their platoon didn't want to stop him. Sometimes you just have to let people go.

On The Rainy River

"It was my view then, and still is, that you don't make war without knowing why" (pg 38).



Growing up in a house where my mother despises war and would never in a million years let my only brother go into the army, I completely agree with this statement. Why go to war if there is not an absolute reason? A misunderstanding is not good enough. It is not fair to take innocent young boys and make them fight in a war. That is why I am glad there hasn't been in a draft for so long. I cannot imagine my classmates being shipped of to Afghanistan and Iraq to fight for our country. I feel like if they don't do it themselves, then how are they supposed to have any motivation to fight. The only motivation they would have would be the desire to win. Someone who willingly signs up to join the army, in my opinion, would be 10x better suited to help win. It should be a personal decision for the man, not something that is forced upon one.

Spin

"On occasion the war was like a ping pong ball" (pg 31).

In every way possible this quote reminded me of Forrest Gump. First of all, because Forrest was an amazing ping pong player. It brought me to the time in the film where all of the soldiers were watching him in amazement. Then to the time when he became a world famous ping pong champion. Secondly, because he was a soldier. And last but not least, because the sentence is a simile. Although this simile doesn't compare to Forrest Gump's famous "Life is like a box of chocolates...," it is still an accurate description of war from what I can infer after reading thus far. It shows how you can look at the war in multiple ways. One could look at it as dreadful, or one could think of all of the fun things they did on the side, or the glory one felt after a victory. I am going to go ahead and mix these two lines and say life is like a ping pong ball. You can be upset with different outcomes, or you can be positive. Look at the glass half full, instead of empty some may say.

Love

"Maybe she'll read it and come begging. There's always hope, right?" (pg 28). Jimmy Cross


Jimmy Cross's love for Martha is completely evident within the first two chapters. I find this somewhat heart-breaking actually, because it reminds me of my friend and her boyfriend. Her boyfriend decided to go into the navy for the next four years, but he wanted to stay together. He was basically asking her to wait for him for and kind of put her life on pause- that's how I took it anyways. He said that even if she broke up with him, when he finished serving his four years, he was going to find her, just to see if she still had the same feelings for him. She was head-over-heals in love with this boy and it was still a hard decision as to whether she should stay with him or if it would be better to break up. I always thought that it would be sad if they broke up, because I knew that she would constantly be on his mind no matter what. This book further increased my suspicion of that happening. Martha seems to only consider Jimmy as a companion, but he takes whatever he can get. He pretends that when she sign's with love that she is actually in love with him. This struggle is like a never ending internal conflict, when he's not fighting, he is thinking about Martha. It makes me feel terrible for the soldiers that have no one waiting for them at home.

The Things They Carried

"Among the necessities or near-necessites were P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tablets, packets of Kool-Aid, lighters, matches, sewing kits, Military Payment Certificates, C rations, and two or three canteens of water. Together, these items weighed between 12 and 18 pounds, depending upon a man's habits or rate of metabolism" (pg 2).



As I began reading this book, the first chapter made me believe that it was just going to be fact after fact. I was afraid that there would be no storyline like "Ship Ablaze" and the other fictional novels we had to read in Mrs. Helbing's U.S. History class last year. But, at the same time, the great imagery helped me understand what was physically weighing the soldiers down. I had never really though about how they constantly had to carry everything they needed with them at all times, because at any second they could be moving to another location. It helped me appreciate the fact that I have the option to carry whatever I want with me at all times, and if I needed something I can easily just get it later. Another thing that stuck out to me was the exact measurement each item weighed, and how it was considered silly to bring a letter or something, simply because it would be unnecessary weight. This is actually a quite sad concept in my opinion. I never think about how much something weighs before I throw it in my purse, I just go. Unfortunately, the soldiers cannot be so carefree.