War. Single handedly, the deadliest and most horrifying environment on this planet. It is amazing what it takes for one to survive with his or her physical and mental well-being. In the book The Things They Carried, written by Tim O’Brien, sheds light on the struggles of war and the things soldiers went through in the face of battle. But not only does O’Brien display information about the horrors of war, he puts an emphasis strictly on the items soldiers carried with them. These items ranging from necessities to personal belongings, and from tactical gear to heavy armor. Not only did such “things” protect the soldiers from physical battle, but they protected them from the mental side to fighting in a war. But throughout the war the most important thing for a soldier to have on him is his reason for being alive. Further research has led to a new interpretation of the items in which soldiers carried, making it more clear that a soldier’s reason for staying alive is extremely important in maintaining a healthy mind during their time in battle but more importantly throughout their entire life after the war.

During the Vietnam war, the majority of the public had almost no idea what the war was like. Whether it was regarding what was happening in the far away country, what the soldiers were going through, or even really what the outcome was looking like. The only information really released to the public was what the media had to say, and of course none of which was one hundred percent true. However, Tim O’Brien’s book changed that misconception about the Vietnam war. It was originally published on March 28, 1990 only a little under fifteen years after the war had ended. Granted some information had already been released about the war, but this nearly first-hand account of the war changed how people saw it. In addition to the uncertainty regarding the information about the war, many people in the United States opposed the war greatly. During the “hippie ages” in the 60’s and 70’s people threw huge protests about the war, the drafting process, and the overall uncertainty about the reason for fighting. Many of these rallies were held by college students, which was the same demographic as the young men who were drafted to fight in Vietnam. The overall morale of the country completely changed from the time of World War I and World War II. Many people turned away from the idea of patriotism to fighting the government and protesting the war as an entirety. In the phenomenon called “draft-dodging, young men and women fled the country to live in Canada to avoid being sent to fight. Which was unheard of back in the times of the World Wars (Colella). With all this lack of patriotism in the air, more and more Vietnam veterans found it hard to get by once they returned from war. It was increasingly difficult to be recognized for fighting and much less receiving benefits for it, ultimately being the near opposite of what happened during the years when the World War veterans returned from battle (Colella). Which is another influential factor O’brien’s book had on the public; being a veteran himself, he influenced people to have a better appreciation of Vietnam veterans based on what they endured as well as their personal habits and experienced during their time serving the United States in a far away and virtually unknown country. 

On the other hand, Tim O’Brien focuses nearly only on the things the soldiers carried with them throughout the war. He goes into detail about the various weapons soldiers carried depending on the type of soldier they were. He also talks about the armor soldiers were required to wear and about the different materials they carried in their bags ranging from canteens of water and food rations to equipment necessary to in the field operations. But most importantly he gave details regarding the personal items each individual soldier carried. These item were completely different from soldier to soldier and meant entirely different things to these young men in the book. For example, O’Brien writes in his opening paragraph, “First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried letters from a girl named Martha, a junior at Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey. They were not love letters, but Lieutenant Cross was hoping, so he kept them folded in plastic at the bottom of his rucksack” (Hayden-McNeil 328). These personal belongings each soldier holds are so important in their fight against the enemy because in many cases it is not only their reason for staying alive but it’s what keeps a soldier sane throughout their time at war. In the case the letters from Martha, symbolize the love Lieutenant Cross has for her and that he must stay a live to win her heart. But that is not all of what is behind those letters. Later on in the same paragraph, O’Brien goes on to say, “In the late afternoon, after a day’s march, he would dig his foxhole, wash his hands under a canteen, unwrap the letters, and spend the last hour of light pretending. He would imagine romantic camping trips into the White Mountains in New Hampshire” (Hayden-McNeil 328). Not only did Martha’s letters give the Lieutenant a reason to survive but it also gave him an escape. In times of war when there is always a possibility of death an escape to one’s happy place is almost as much of a necessity as food and water. Without these priceless belongings a soldier’s mind begins to wear down over the countless stress a war will put on it and cause it to plummet into the widely familiar syndrome of post-traumatic stress or PTSD.

As a result of war, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, is one of the most common mental illnesses among veterans. An article regarding the history of PTSD in Vietnam stated, “The term Post Vietnam Syndrome was used to describe returning soldiers with trauma symptoms. This syndrome usually consists of combat related nightmares, anxiety, anger, depression, alcohol and/or drug dependence, and poor responsiveness” (Begg). There are many factors that can cause a person to experience such an illness but there are only a few things that can possibly prevent it. Tim O’Brien does an excellent job of explaining the ways soldiers were able to escape these symptoms. In his story, he makes it clear that each individual more or less needs the personal things they carry in order for them to remain sane through all they had and would endure. Once again, that ranges from person to person on what it is that gets a soldier through the hell of war. Making these items even more important was the nature of the Vietnam War, which was unlike any before it. With American soldiers fighting on foreign soil, in a country divided amongst itself, it was nearly impossible to distinguish friend from foe (Begg). Which made it increasingly important for soldiers to find their escape from the horrors of battle, just as the one O’Brien described when Lieutenant Jimmy Cross read his letters from Martha. 

In a success story regarding the overcoming of PTSD, a Vietnam veteran stated, “You can’t take a 19-year-old brain and subject it to the constant threat of death or injury by rocket fire and expect it not to be affected” (Success Story: Roy). This quote makes it even more clear how easily a soldier’s mind can be altered as a consequence of war, much less a maturing teenager; which the majority of Vietnam soldiers were. In hard times, a person must adapt to their surroundings although, during war that can mean doing unspeakable things just to survive but it is essential to keep one’s sanity. But without those items that keeps someone true to who they are, a person can be, in some cases, transformed into someone unrecognizable comparatively to the person who they were before. Making it ever so important that a young man or woman must find something, whether it be concrete or abstract, that keeps them and their mind healthy throughout their entire life. Which is exactly what Tim O’Brien wanted readers to take from his book, The Things They Carried. 
