The Things They Carried
...’ Brien also tells us the physical items that each soldier carried; which were the reality of the war. They carried guns, knifes, food, packs, radios, etc. These items all had tangible weight, which was another burden for the men to “hump.” Each soldier carried different types of guns or weapons, which was necessary for his position in the platoon. “What they carried was partly a function of rank, partly of field specialty.” (p.5) When the United States had the draft for soldiers to go to the Vietnam War, many citizens were in opposition. But unfortunately, that had no choice. If you were drafted, as Tim O’ Brien was, you had to go fight in the war, unless, however, you decided to flee to Canada. In the chapter entitled “On the Rainy River,” O’ Brien explains to us how after being drafted to go to the war, he fled to the Canadian border. “At some point in mid-July I began thinking seriously about Canada. The border lay a few hundred miles north, an eight-hour drive. Both my conscience and my instincts were telling me to make a break for it…” (p. 44). He explains to us about his week at the Tip Top Lodge on the Rainy River that separated Minnesota from Canada. During his stay at the lodge, he is challenged with the internal moral conflict of whether or not he is going to skip border to escape the war. He also describes to us his job he held, “… the summer of 1968 in an Armour meatpacking plant in [his] hometown of Worthington, Minnesota” (p. 42). He describes to us the blood he saw daily as he worked. This is a symbol of the blood he will see when he goes to the war. In the end of the chapter he eventually decides to go to the war, in order to avoid feeling like a coward. This was an internal conflict that O’ Brien faces, as well as many other young men who were called to serve in the war, even if they were against the war or didn’t agree with it. Once the men were in Vietnam, far from their friends, families, loved ones, homes, and the lives they knew, all they had was one another. Many times they became good friends with each other, even after the war ended. They looked out for each other, teamed up on ambushes, and many of them formed everlasting friendships. In the two chapters, “Friends” and “Enemies” we see an example of a friendship that was made between two members of O’ Brien’s platoon. The two friends were Dave Jensen and Lee Strunk. “Dave Jensen and Lee Strunk did not become instant buddies, but they did learn to trust each other. Over the next month they often teamed up on ambushes. They covered each other on patrol, shared a fox hole, took turns pulling guard at night…” (p. 65). In “Enemies” we see that two friends get into a fight over a lost or stolen knife; but the two eventually reconcile because they are at war, and all they have is one another. Today, we hear about the Vietnam War through family members, friends, and veterans. Many of the soldiers who made it home had psychological problems. Others felt like outcasts. The soldiers have to live with the guilt of those they killed, and the memories of the friends they lost. In “The Lives of the Dead,” O’ Brien remember...