
Vietnam was one of the most controversial wars in American History. It resulted in death, economic turmoil, and extreme descent towards American soldiers. This time in America was filled with very high tension and when a lot of the soldiers returned home they seemed to be mentally struggling. They seemed to reliving their experiences of war, but it seemed as no cared about the soldiers returning. America instead decided to ignore the soldiers when they came home instead of helping them. No one knew what it was like for the soldiers over in Vietnam since they didn’t experience it themselves. A lot of these soldiers needed to talk about their experiences, but instead were shut down and ignored which lead to a worsening mental condition. Tim O’Brien decided that he would share his story in his book The Things They Carried. He decided to talk about his trauma for those who couldn't. In the book O’Brien shares a bunch of short stories of his platoon and their experience with the Vietnam War. Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried helps show the mental conflicts soldiers had during the Vietnam War and lasting effects even when it was over. 

Tyler Smith and his cohorts share about what mental conflict and PTSD in the article: “PTSD Prevalence, Associated Exposures, and Functional Health Outcomes in Large, Population-Based Military Cohort.” PTSD is a result of experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. It is most commonly seen in soldiers coming back from war. This is due to the amount of death, injury, and destruction they see when they are over there. The first time soldiers were starting to be noticed for having this mental struggle was when coming back from Vietnam. Vietnam was a war with a lot of casualties associated with it. A majority of these casualties were innocent Vietnamese civilians which made the experience even harder. Most of soldiers were coming home after Vietnam with these mental struggles but were doing nothing to cope with which led to even worse issues. They were also ignored and out casted after coming home which led them to not be able to openly talk about their issues. Not being able to talk seemed to be a major issue for these soldiers. Lots of soldiers continually replayed the events of the war in their heads and would turn to drugs, alcohol, or smoking to cope (Smith). These really would not do anything to help their condition because it was a temporary escape. What these veterans really needed was professional help instead of hiding their issues. In The Things They Carried we the see the prevalence of PTSD. Ted Lavender is the first soldier to die in the story, but he is also the first soldier we learn who shows signs of PTSD. Lavender would use tranquilizers and smoke marijuana to escape being “scared” from the war (O’Brien, 331). Escape was something a lot of soldiers wanted during the war. By doing drugs or drinking a lot found refuge in them as a coping mechanism even though their problems really weren’t going away. A lot of times soldiers with PTSD wanted to escape their problems, like Ted Lavender, in order to deal with them in the moment even if all it does is erase the problem for a short time. When Ted Lavender died Lieutenant Jimmy Cross directly blamed himself for his death even though it was not his fault. Cross “felt shame. He hated himself. He loved Martha more than his men, and as a consequence Lavender was now dead, and this was something he would have to carry like a stone in is stomach for the rest of the war” (O’Brien, 336). This is one of the main reasons for PTSD. Soldiers continually blame themselves for things and replay the events in their which leads to severe mental distraught. Even though the death of Lavender wasn’t directly Cross’s fault the pressures of war made him feel like it was. Cross continually replayed the event over in his head and seemed to constantly think about it. He even burned the letters and pictures of Martha because he thought it would lessen the guilt which it did not. By replaying the scene over and over in his head he is displaying symptoms of PTSD. Another soldier, Kiowa, reflects on the death of Lavender. “He wished he could find some great sadness, or even anger, but the emotion was not there and he couldn’t make it happen. Mostly he felt pleased to be alive” (O’Brien, 337). The other soldiers seem to not be able to create emotion, like Kiowa, and left it to be all bottled up which mentally destroys as well. Displacement on other thoughts was also very common. Soldiers would think about other things in order to lessen their pain of the war and what they had seen. Some choose to displace while others chose to replay the events of war continually in their head. Smith gave insight into the inner workings of PTSD and we see this in The Things They Carried just how badly it can affect soldiers. 

A man named Roy served during Vietnam and gives a first person account of his experience there and his mental hardships. Roy was nineteen years old when he entered the Vietnam War. He wasn’t an infantryman, but instead was a combat engineer. People thought only the infantrymen were affected, but everyone experienced some type of violence and warfare firsthand. There was no escape from what they were facing over there even if it wasn’t in the frontline. Roy said “There were not any frontliners in Vietnam. If you were there, you were in it. Everyone had the opportunity to get killed” (Vietnam War Veteran). This shows the stress that soldiers were under while over there. They always had be on high alert because if not they could be injured or killed at any second. Being a soldier required extreme focus because without it there wasn’t a chance of survival. It shows the mental stress these soldiers were put into. The environment wasn’t one that a lot or any soldiers thrived in. Roy said “you cannot take a 19 year old brain and subject it to constant threat of death or injury by rocket fire and expect it to not be affected” (Vietnam War Veteran). The fact that a lot of the soldiers were young kids made the issues they were facing even harder. Their brains could not handle everything they were experiencing because at that age one should not be experiencing that amount of death and turmoil. This why a lot of soldiers developed mental struggles, such as PTSD, during the war. A lot of them kept it bottled up too and were afraid to show any emotion or reaction towards the war. After Roy left the army, he talked about how his PTSD overwhelmed him. He couldn't hold jobs and any importance because he was depressed and felt he was unable to function. There seemed to be no purpose for him after the war. Luckily, Roy sought help through medication, therapy, and just talking about his experience over in Vietnam. He thanks everyone that helped him in his recovery and advises anyone who felt the same way as he did to seek help before it is too late. He says that keeping everything inside and showing no emotion leads to worse symptoms and he wishes he would not have done it during the war.  In The Things They Carried they talked about bottling up their emotions. It says the soldiers were “afraid of dying, but they were even more afraid to show it… They carried all the emotional baggage of the men who might die” (O’Brien, 338). This shows first account exactly what Roy felt. The men in Vietnam were scared, but put on the brave face so they wouldn't disappoint. This lack of emotion and keeping it all inside is exactly what leads to PTSD and any type of mental struggle. By carrying around the baggage of those who died they were carrying the bad memories which can destroy someone even more. This was seen firsthand with Lieutenant Cross and blaming himself from the death of Ted Lavender. O’Brien and Roy’s stories can be connected. Both O’Brien and Roy were young when they entered the war. Both saw the death and destruction of the war which both impacted them mentally. It seemed like both returned from war seeming to not know what their purpose was after the war. Roy seemed to stay lost longer than O’Brien who decided to write his book. Unlike O’Brien, Roy sought professional medical help for his mental struggles. What both of them did which was really beneficial for their mental health was sharing their stories. Talking about the issues faced during war can improve the mental struggles immensely. O’Brien even said that if he hadn’t had written The Things They Carried he doesn’t know where his mental state would be. 

In The Things They Carried, they talk about soldiers purposely getting hurt so they escape war and return to the comforts. In one part they mention the soldiers that had done this and how “they spoke bitterly about guys who had found release by shooting off their own toes and fingers” (O’Brien, 339). They might have spoken bitterly about these guys, but secretly a lot of soldiers wish they had done the same exact thing. Being freed from the hell of war was what all the soldiers wanted after experiencing Vietnam. They “dreamed of freedom of birds” (O’Brien, 339). Soldiers were ultimately dreaming of the war being over and coming home. They wanted to return to back where they were noted and not in isolation or constant fear for their lives. The comfort of home was so very appealing. What a lot of soldiers didn’t know was that their welcome would be anything but welcoming. In "Coming Home: Vietnam Veterans in American Society”, they talk about exactly what it was like for soldiers to come home after war. The nation was divided in debate about the decisions of the Vietnam War. When the soldiers came home they were ignored and treated as nothing basically. It was weird for the soldiers because there really wasn’t hate towards them instead people just chose to look the other way. This lack of any emotion towards them made soldiers very confused. For them they were confused how most could look away after all they had been through in Vietnam. Even when they tried to reach people still felt weird and ignored them. They were basically treated as outcasts in society and this made soldiers feel even worse. Since majorities were coming with mental conflicts they needed help but could not really seek it anywhere. No one seemed to want to deal with the Vietnam Veterans which is why a lot of their situations worsened. Most chose not to talk about which lead to mental destruction and turning to bad alternatives like drugs and alcohol. No one understood or cared for them which made them feel like those were their only options. Tim O’Brien says that he experienced this first hand. After returning from war Tim O’Brien, like many soldiers, felt like he didn’t have purpose and no one to talk to. Some of the soldiers in his troop convinced him to write a book about his experiences over in Vietnam. This book was The Things They Carried and by writing about his problems it was like O’Brien was talking about it to everyone who read the book. He thanks writing the book for keeping him sane and for helping him release all his feelings of the war. This shows that mental struggles can be lessened if the soldiers were allowed to talk about their experiences instead of keeping them bottled up like most had to since society was very accepting of their coming home. 

Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried gives us direct insight into the minds of soldiers during Vietnam. Vietnam was anything but easy for these soldiers. Soldiers starting developing mental struggles during the war because of its hostility and constant battle. It was obvious that a lot of these soldiers were coming home with the mental struggles and that they needed to be addressed. A lot soldiers were excited to return home because it meant an escape from what they were experiencing. It also meant that they could talk about their problems and feel like heroes after the war. Instead of being addressed or thanked for their service America decided to ignore the soldiers because they were not supporters of the war. Instead they looked down on the soldiers which made their mental states even worse. This left the soldiers to have to deal with these problems on their own which lead to unhealthy methods. Instead they turned to drugs, alcohol, or smoking which was nothing but be a temporary escape. Tim O’Brien showed all these issues in his book. A lot of his men had developed these mental conflicts and he himself had developed them as well. Luckily for O’Brien he displaced all his problems and experiences into writing a book. It shows how much a war can affect someone even if it does not look like it. It also shows how talking about the experience can make things easier for the person experiencing them as well. The prevalence of mental conflicts during Vietnam was obvious for the young soldiers going through the war and the lack of help from them lead to some major issues for veterans. Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried was an excellent example of how Vietnam was for soldiers firsthand and showed the prevalence of mental struggles for the soldiers during and after  the war. 
