By looking at the Vietnam War in The Things They Carried, we can see that PTSD is a traumatic part of war. This is important because soldiers not only carry emotions with them during the war, but they tend to follow them after, leading them to traumatic experiences. 

In The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, the word “carry” is used frequently. Whether the object being carried is emotional or physical, each item has a relation to the soldiers. The author presents the things each soldier carried as something symbolic to them, and lists different items through their adventure. The level of necessity depends on each soldier. “Among the necessities or near-necessities were P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tablets, packets of Kool-Aid, lighters, matches, sewing kits, Military Payment Certifications, C rations, and two or three canteens of water” (O’Brien, 328). Pocket Knives, can openers, and mosquito repellent could all be considered an object of survival, however; candy holds different levels of necessity per soldier. A soldier who is stationed on watch for more than 24 hours, and is protecting his bunk might need candy to give him a sugar rush to prevent falling asleep while on watch. One of the soldiers in the novel stated that he loved “canned peaches in heavy syrup over pound cake” (O’Brien, 328). The peaches and pound cake present the possibility that this combo gives the soldier comfort in remembering meals he ate at home, rather than the meals he eats at war. These soldiers carry these items to give them remembrance of their past lives, which comforts them during hard times, hoping it will be worth it. Soldiers carry these items to help prevent trauma during the war. When carrying an item that brings warm memories, the soldier feels as if where he is stationed feels more like home. Throughout the war these soldiers resort to these objects that they carry with them, when they feel distraught. These items become a sense of comfort, but now also carry traumatic memories and experiences. The object the soldier choses to carry becomes something they carry within themselves, because they are so reliant on these objects. In the novel, Lieutenant Cross carried photographs of a women he loved named Martha. Lieutenant Cross could describe every detail of the picture without even looking. This was not only because he loved Martha, but because he looked at this picture seeking comfort while away at war. The feeling of love he gets when looking at this photo, distracts him from the occurrences happening in the war. “To carry something was to hump it, as when Lieutenant Cross humped his love for Martha up the hills and through the swamps. In its intransitive form, to hump meant to walk, or to march, but it implied burdens far beyond the intransitive” (O’Brien, 329). When Lieutenant Cross marched up the hills and through the swamps, he thought of Martha as encouragement. When Lieutenant Cross returns home from war, the thought of Martha will bring memories of war, and marching through the swamps, rather than comfort. These soldiers carry these items for comfort, but these items build memory of war, that is unknown to the soldier until they return home. What many viewers don’t recognize, is that when a soldier returns from war, he still needs the same comfort he needed during war, to help him reconnect within society. The objects soldiers carry throughout war, that helped them stay connected, now distance them from society. The only remembrance they have through these objects is war. 

When a soldier returns from war, the slightest noise can strike an outrage within themselves. The soldier may not understand why he feels this way, after finally reconnecting with society, however; this is proven to be an early sign of PTSD. “By the time I got home, though, I wasn’t thinking about that or any of the other horrific things we’d seen; I mentally buried all of it until one day, a few months later, when I went into the subway rush hour to catch the C train downtown. Suddenly I found myself backed up against a metal support column, absolutely convinced I was going to die. There were too many people on the platform, the trains were coming into the station too fast, the lights were too bright, the world was too loud. I couldn’t quite explain what was wrong, but I was far more scared than I’d ever been in Afghanistan” (Junger). This experience shows an example of how returning to society can be detrimental to soldiers. These experiences they have after war create confusion within the soldier, causing them to need professional help. Many soldiers don’t want to come to terms with the possibility of having PTSD. In a situation where a soldier is in denial, they might resort back to an item they carried while at war that gave them comfort. This item no longer carries comfort of society, but reminds the solider of the hard times he experienced during war, when he felt the need to remember this item. These soldiers want to feel the way they felt at war, because they could always resort to a comforting item. When a soldier felt danger, he could comfort it with his item, but when the soldier returns home, and wants to experience that same feeling of danger he felt at war, the item comforting the soldier no longer brings that sense, but instead brings the feeling of more danger. “you want to be vigilant, you want to react to strange noises, you want to sleep lightly and wake easily, you want to have flashbacks that remind you of the danger, and you want to be, by turns, anxious and depressed. Anxiety keeps you ready to fight, and depression keeps you from being too active and putting yourself at greater risk” (Junger). Soldiers want to feel these emotions because they want to feel like they can still make a difference here in society, like they did during war. The problem with soldiers experiencing PTSD is that they don’t want to forget every aspect of war. There are lots of times where soldiers have good memories of war, whether its bonding with their bunk or experiencing a life changing moment, some of the memories they want to remember. When trying to cure a soldier from PTSD, it’s often hard because the only way to help a soldier through these hard times is to help the forget, but that’s not always what the soldier wants. 

In The Things They Carried, the audience sees that soldiers carry physical objects to help create memory, but they also carry actual memories. These objects help to prevent trauma while at war, however; the artifact they carry starts to relate to traumatic memories the longer they are away. The object the soldier carries during war becomes something carried in their mind. These objects give the soldier painful memories of war once they have returned to society. The goal of PTSD treatment is to heal the soldier once he is back in society, but the memories used to heal him at war create more trauma once he has returned. This is important because many soldiers experience these hard times during war and come back into society hoping to reconnect as if he never left, but more often than not, that isn’t the case. The awareness of PTSD and how to treat it could help returning soldiers understand how to return to a normal routine after war, and how to cherish good memories, but erase the harmful ones. 

