
During 1954-1975 the United States was involved in a treacherous war with Vietnam.  Young men were taken from their families and everyday lives.  These men put on a brave face and carried so much for their country, which was in shambles with protesters and riots; from civil rights to antiwar movements.  At this time our country needed saving itself, but we thought the need to help other countries.  These men that fought were scared and terrified for their lives so in order to help themselves, they all carried an item.  The soldiers believed the items that they carried would help carry them through the war to the end; these items had a certain place in their heart.  In the excerpt, “The Things They Carried,” Tim O’Brien uses these items to show how the soldiers figuratively and literally carry items of significant value. These items helped the solders carry themselves as well as the United States on their backs, even when we needed saving in our own home.  

During the time of the Vietnam war, America was at war with itself.  Segregation was a popular issue during this time.  Many people were fighting for their civil rights and there were anti-war protests because African Americans were not seen as equal.  African Americans were not allowed to drink out of the same water fountains, or use the same public bathrooms as white people just because their skin was a different color.  As “Black power” was becoming a bigger issue to the whites, so was anti-war groups on college campuses.  These groups were arguing that troops were not needed in Vietnam because they believed there was bigger trouble in America. The American people were mad that the United States was poking our nose in issues that did not involve us. They wanted our own country to be helped before helping another country.  So ultimately people were not happy that America sent troops to Vietnam.  Instead of ending the war, more troops were sent into Asia which created a small upset into a big problem.  These obstacles that America was facing only made matters worse.

Throughout the story O’Brien tells the reader about how the soldiers all had to carry packs that were pretty heavy.  He also explains how each soldier had their own special item, and each of these items had a big significance on the soldier carrying it.  Jimmy Cross, a soldier, carried letters from a girl back in the states. These letters made Jimmy feel a range of emotions, and could take his mind away from the war.  Dave Jensen carried hygiene products- he was one who liked to keep up his hygiene. Ted Lavender carried dope, which helped him cope with being in war and having to fight.  Kiowa carried the New Testament and to him, that gave him faith during the war. To the men, these items were a way of coping with the war and helped them see to the end of it. The items also helped them have a since of control, but also show their feelings emotions. These items were physical and were carried in each soldiers back packs.  Each back pack was the soldier’s life and they took them wherever they went. Everything they needed to survive was in that bag.  These items were literally carrying these soldiers through the rice fields and forest of Vietnam.  It provided them with a since of hope and control by having their items with them.  Because those items carried the men through the war it meant they carried our country through the war; they were the ones doing the fighting.

These soldiers were literally carrying the United States on their backs with their significant items but they were also figuratively carrying the United States through democracy.  The president gave those men hope by making sure they knew if we help fight for South Vietnam ,our government will be stronger and we will have better influence on other nations and countries.  The soldiers were promised free elections and individual liberty for a person. “Despite all the problems, the US was correct in sending troops to Vietnam.  Without this move, the Soviet Union and China might have become even more aggressive than they actually did” (Badertscher).  The Government knew if North Vietnam takes over South Vietnam that it would turn into a series of bad events, so they needed to protect South Vietnam as long as they could. A lot of people believed that we should have been in our own country helping save our country, but we knew communism could become an idea- and no one wanted that.  These men who were carrying the democracy on their backs for our government did it in a figurative way because they really cannot carry it on their back. Our government wanted to take down North Vietnam and most of the other Asian countries who had a communist government. 

The Vietnam war was a war where the soldiers acted like everything was okay when it was not.  They went over to another country to help save them when our own country needed saving. The soldiers acted like that was okay when it really was not. “They would police up their acts.  They would get their shit together, and keep it together, and maintain it neatly and in good working order” (O’Brien p.341).  This quote shows how that even when they did not want pull it together, they had too.  They could not let anyone know it was not okay.  They were not to show how the war was not okay and how it made them feel. Their emotions and feelings were kept to themselves, all bottled up. The soldiers used their special items to get their emotions out. The items showed what emotions they were feeling or had. For example, Jimmy Cross kept letters from a girl who did not love him. It shows he wanted her to loved him by keeping the letters and writing back to her. On the outside, he acted like he was okay but he really was not because deep down he knew she did not love him. These soldiers did an awesome job of showing they were okay when truly they were not and they believed the war was not a good thing.

This war was not a romanticized war; it caused a lot of problems to soldiers after it was over.  Once the soldiers came home they did not settle in very well. “Many American citizens felt a sense of national shame regarding the war, and discussions of it were often avoided. Soldiers returning to the U.S., expecting to be respected for their service, commonly had difficulty reintegrating into society and suffered feelings of isolation.” (Aliprandini). This quote explains how the war had effected the soldiers when they came back to the states. They expected to be thanked and respected for their service, but they were not.  Most people believed that the soldiers should not have gone into Vietnam, so these people hated on the soldiers and gave them grief about the war.  They went and fought for our country and came back just to be disrespected because people were so against the idea of the war.  The antiwar-groups wanted the U.S. to be focused on our own country, but there was no reason for them to despise the ones who fought for our country.  Those men did a brave thing fighting but our country did not need to send so many men over when we did not even have our own country under control in some sense. 

This story “The Things They Carried” confirms what we already knew about the Vietnam War.  It confirms the idea that the Vietnam War was a brutal war and that the United States lost many men because we were helping another country.  Soldiers were put through a lot and were not in a good time in their life. The antiwar groups were organized on college campus and college students came together to protest the war. The fact that the United States was helping another nation should really be paid attention to. The US was worried about the fact that Iraq and Iran need help, but our own government needed help because it seemed to be going downhill with the past election. The United States needs to focus on itself and make sure it is a stable country before helping other countries. 
