



In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, he narrates his journey with the men in his reserve throughout the Vietnam War. He closely observes each soldier and the items they transport every day and comes to understand that the things they carry are more meaningful and important than he initially thought. Using two articles that relate to the psychology aspect of personal items during war and the importance of mementos to many other people, it is apparent that by having or giving sentiments can be an impactful way to help soldiers through war and family through the grieving of their veterans. 

In the article “The Psychological Effects of the Vietnam War” by the combined efforts of Toby Stevenson, Tracye Lawyer and Josh Hochgesang, they contribute in explaining many different aspects of the Vietnam War specifically the psychological effects it had on its veterans. First, they establish that the Vietnam war was not heavily supported by American citizens due to it being a reflection on how the American government interferes with other countries conflicts that are out of our ability to solve. This being said, the country as a whole was not completely proud of the troops returning after the war was over. With this disadvantage at hand, the troops fell to increased risks of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, due to the lack of support from their country. In this period of warfare that the Vietnam War took place in, the authors of this article explain it to be called “bad” war; meaning that many other factors play a role in the mass murder of the enemy such as race, territory, fear and advancements in weaponry and strategies. Because of how the enemy Vietnamese were able to disguise themselves within villages of the country’s citizens it became harder for the American troops to locate and kill them. This instilled fear and anxiousness in their armed forces and played a major role on how they behavior during combat and after they returned from rotation. 

After being home from the war for quite some time, psychologists began to investigate the large number of reported veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. In discovering many things about the cause of a massive increase from this war’s troops having post-traumatic stress disorder to any other war, it was reported that the lack of support from the country and lack of education about the war was negatively impactful. 

Tim O’Brien makes the transition from the tangible objects the troops in his story carried to the emotions and responsibilities in attempt to show that soldiers carry a lot more than their things. This is supported by the psychological analysis done by the authors of the article, “The Psychological Effects of the Vietnam War,” in that many soldiers returned home with a severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder. O’Brien states “As a first lieutenant and platoon leader, Jimmy Cross carried a compass, maps, code books, binoculars, and a .45-caliber pistol that weighed 2.9 pounds fully loaded. He carried a strove light and the responsibility for the lives of his men” (330). O’Brien creates a list of the items to give the effect of showing that the responsibility for his men is just as heavily as all the other supplies. By forcing a human body to withstand all of the weight from weapons, supplies and many other necessary items, it begins to slowly deteriorate under all of the stress. However, mentioned in Stevenson, Lawyer, and Hochgesang’s article, carrying emotional baggage can also severely affect performance in the war the duration of life. O’Brien also lists the other things the troops carried that are compatible with responsibility, “They shared the weight of memory. They took up what others could no longer bear. Often, they carried each other, the wounded or the weak. They carried infections” (335). All of these things took a major toll on the bodies of the soldiers and without the support of their country and a lack of complete understanding why they are killing Vietnamese initially puts them at a large risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder. War has a major effect on many people during its presence regardless of when and where it took place. There were many casualties as an outcome of the Vietnam war and there are many veterans that still suffer from mental diseases like post-traumatic stress disorder. Perhaps if the American government were to refrain from getting involved in the war or if the American citizens had been more supportive to the troops being in Vietnam, the number of post-traumatic stress disorder cases would have remained the same from previous wars or decreased in numbers. 

In the article “The Things They Leave Behind: Artifacts From the Vietnam Veterans Memorial” by Rachel Manteuffel, she writes about the post-war, on going event of loved ones coming to the memorial and leaving sentiments and mementos for veterans. After the several visitations that the memorial received the National Park Service began to take matters into their own hands in preserving the items that people had left for the veterans. The items were documented and dated and stored away in categorized bins in a temporary storage room near the Washington Monument. Manteuffel tells her audience about some of the items that are left behind:

 “The wall is about stories. The little ones are told in the letters and objects left behind – eccentric items that speak of matters so intimate they may be indecipherable to two people – one living, one dead. Bullet casings soldered into a circle. Five cans of fruit salad. A teddy bear, loved threadbare. A harmonica. An ace of spades. A handful of gravel. A model carousel. A toothbrush. Graduation tassels. They’re all pieces of a larger story…” 

The things that are left behind for the veterans are similar to the personal items the soldiers would bring carry with them during their deployments. Things like small instruments, tokens of achievements and other small meaningful items could be considered a parallel to the items the soldiers carried during war. They both hold strong sentimental value and are both small enough to be carried in a soldier’s pack. 

With all the items that O’Brien mentions in “The Things They Carried” like ammunition, weapons, rations, water and other essential equipment, being able to have something that is a reminder of home and comfort is mentally beneficial to the soldiers. This is made especially apparent due to the fact that it is during the Vietnam War which was shown to be particularly detrimental to the individuals that were involved causing the increase in post-traumatic stress disorder cases.  

In Tim O’Brien’s exploration of his friend’s personal items and their meaning, he was able to reiterate authentic observation of how cherished mementos are by soldiers when being so far from home. In Rachel Manteuffel’s article, she writes about how much veterans’ loved ones cherish leaving sentiments at the memorial or tombstone. Toby Stevenson, Tracye Lawyer and Josh Hochgesang show through in the text of their article that after having the responsibility of carrying so many things as a solider, they have a memento that they call reach for to remain sane and add reassurance to their situation. 



