The Vietnam War is one of the most significant wars in history. The reason this war is so significant is because of how traumatic the events of the war were for the soldiers and for the people who are not directly involved in it. During this period the media displayed their interpretation of the war and may have exaggerated some events of it. This changed the perception of the United States for other countries and the citizens of the United States drastically. The main issue produced from this war is how the veterans were effected. Many veterans had occurrences of mental illnesses such as PTSD, depression, or anxiety after and even during the war because of what they experienced. Many people in society today are for the support of soldiers during the war, but they do not show much appreciation for the soldiers after war when they are now veterans. This issue was first represented after the Vietnam War but it still exists today especially because the funding for veteran’s benefits is being cut continuously. By looking at the events of the Vietnam War in terms of the events in “The Things They Carried”, we can see that the Vietnam War had significant effects on the mental stability on the veterans of the story. This is important because the mental illnesses that Vietnam War veterans acquired from the war are life changing and this story was written to spread the awareness of the effects of this historical event. 

The author Alair MacLean wrote an article based on his research on mental illnesses that occurred in Vietnam War veterans. The concepts and results in his studies support the idea that the veterans in “The Things They Carried” have or will have these mental illnesses after their experiences in the war. “The Things They Carried” is a story that revolves around a group of soldiers and is focused on the things that they carry with them through the Vietnam War. These things that the soldiers carry can be anything from personal items to memories of their pasts or things that they carry emotionally. The soldier that the story revolves around the most is Lieutenant Jimmy Cross. This is because he is the soldier who people would think most definitely acquired some sort of mental illness. This is because he is influenced the most emotionally. An emotional influence can affect someone more severely when actively experiencing an event such as war. This emotional influence would be his love for his crush Martha. Jimmy went into the war constantly thinking about her and he also carried pictures of her and letters that he wrote for her with him to remind him of her. His constant thoughts of her along with his war experiences is what can cause PTSD or other mental illnesses. Jimmy kept letting his fantasies of Martha haunt him and take control of his emotions which significantly impacted how he operated during the war. Eventually in the story he realized that it is better for him to not think about her and that they were not meant to be together so then he burned his photos of her and letters for her. These thoughts and emotions were some of the things that Jimmy had to carry with him and it can be argued that this resulted in him to obtain a mental illness. Combat experiences is not the only thing that can cause these post traumatic mental illnesses. The things a person carries with them into a war also has a large impact on how the war affects them. The way that the war effected Jimmy Cross is a great example that helps support MacLean’s research on PTSD. Alair Maclean claimed that the consequences for being involved in the Vietnam War and other wars are not only physical but also psychological (564). According to Maclean’s research both of these types of consequences caused Vietnam War veterans to struggle after the war socially. They had trouble finding work because of their mental illnesses. By looking at “The Things They Carried” and Maclean’s article we can infer that mental illnesses in war veterans is a major issue and should still be taken seriously today.

The events and actions taken during the Vietnam War have changed the perception of United States drastically. The article “Vietnam War and US: Haunting Legacy” is about this change in perception and how it was caused. Many soldiers of the Vietnam War were accused of their “misdeeds” while at war. According to the article, the media during the Vietnam War did not censor any of these actions of the soldiers. The media also may have exaggerated these actions by showing many reports of United States soldiers killing innocent women and children. Even if it was true that these soldiers did commit these actions in many cases they argued that they did not intend to do any of it. Many soldiers were questioned about what happened and many of them said that they did kill innocent people but the reason is because at a certain point in the war they could not tell the difference between the innocent and guilty. Also some men claim that they did not think of the consequences of their actions because they did not have time too. For example, in the article there is an explanation of what a bomber plane technician experienced. He said that the pilots of these bombers did not have any time to think of their actions because they do not see what they are doing because of how fast it takes them to fulfill their duties. In “The Things They Carried” none of these events happened so when comparing this article to the story it is hard to determine what actually happened at the Vietnam War. Either way the events at the Vietnam War were very traumatic and impacted the veterans and the people who saw what happened. This war changed the perception of the United States in a bad way and after looking back at it today it has changed the United States’ policy of war intervention. 

The idea that the soldiers in the story “The Things They Carried” is supported by both Maclean’s research and the article by M.S.S. The soldiers in the story are very likely to acquire post traumatic mental illnesses when comparing the types of things that real Vietnam War veterans had to experience. The idea that the story revolves around is about the things that the men carry with them into and throughout the war. When the soldiers experience something like the death of a comrade or some other emotional moment they must carry that experience with them. These memories of war are what cause mental illnesses like PTSD. In the story when one of the soldiers died, the other soldiers decided to grab all his belongings and carry them with them. This also had a significant effect on the soldier’s war experience. 

The Vietnam War changed the lives of many people. By comparing the articles about the effects of the Vietnam War with the story “The Things They Carry”, we can see that the Vietnam War was a tragic event. It changed the lives of the soldiers who were in the war and the lives of the people who were not directly involved. Veterans of the war suffered from mental illness such as PTSD, depression and anxiety. The traumatic events of the war are what caused this and they also changed the perception of the United States. Now when the United States looks back at the events and actions taken during the Vietnam War there is a lot of regret. This war has shaped the United States in a bad way but also has motivated the United States to be better. The United States now has a war intervention policy of protecting the rights of human beings everywhere. The purpose of these articles and story about the Vietnam War is to raise the awareness of the effects of the war and how drastic of an impact it had on society. Today people look back at the war as a learning experience but they do not praise those who suffered from the war. Vietnam War veterans do not get the right attention for what they experienced and the goal of these pieces was to attempt to fix this issue. 
