Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” is a powerful short story told in a 3rd-person point of view involving Lieutenant Jimmy Cross and his Army unit full of men who were drafted and deployed to fight in Vietnam against the threat of the Communist Viet Cong. Vietnam was filled with war and violence and was an extremely dangerous place to be at this time. Many American troops were deployed to fight in hopes of stopping the spread of Communism in this part of the world. Unfortunately, over 58,000 U.S. Military troops died in the process, making it a very costly and deadly war to the United States side. Many devastating events took place during the War, and there were many negative outcomes of these events. For example, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is a somewhat common, unfortunate result that plagues many soldiers who fought. Reading different articles and stories pertaining to this specific time period helps give readers a deeper understanding of each of the separate texts because the material all interconnects. “The Things They Carried”, “Vietnam War and US: Haunting Legacy”, and “PTSD and Vietnam Veterans” are all connected by the historical context of the Vietnam War and help effectively shape the reading of each of the other texts.

“The Things They Carried” begins with the narrator summarizing all of the things that the soldiers carry with them on their voyage in order for the reader to understand the characters more closely and get a sense of their personalities as well as who they really are through the items they transport. These items range anywhere from guns, ammunition, pictures of girlfriends, and Bibles to grief, terror, and fearfulness. The items that the soldiers carry give a direct representation as to who the soldier is externally and internally. For example, Ted Lavender carries weapons and ammunition, along with most of the other soldiers, which depicts that Ted is a regular American soldier fighting in Vietnam. He also carries tranquilizer pills and pot, which further represents that he is frightened or scared of battle and is looking for a means of escape which in his case happens to be taking drugs to calm his nerves. Items that are carried by the soldiers not only have physical meaning, but they also have emotional and intellectual meaning. Some certain things that are carried have emotional weight as well as physical weight and usually has a meaningful effect on the soldier who carries it. Things are either carried out of necessity, chosen by the soldier because of sentimental value or other specific reasons, or are ideas that naturally come along with the lives they live. The optional items usually help to create a sense of escape for the soldiers so they can theoretically get away from all the terror and madness in their everyday lives. The short story also contains several events that take place including the burning of Than Khe and the burning of Lt. Jimmy Cross’s dear pictures of Martha.

“Vietnam War and US: Haunting Legacy” is a brief overview of some of the specific events that occurred during the Vietnam War and the legacy that it left behind. It particularly focuses on Democratic senator, Bob Kerrey, and his wrongdoings while stationed at war in Vietnam. Bob Kerrey “led a massacre of innocent Vietnamese villagers” and was tried and convicted of his war crimes 32 years later. (1794) His combat mission that he led way back in Vietnam resulted in the killings of over 20 innocent civilians. The commander of the unit reported that 21 Viet Cong were actually killed and Kerrey was awarded a Bronze Star. The article mainly focuses on Kerrey and how his situation played out, but a lot of information included is found very useful when researching the Vietnam War and its relevance to “The Things They Carried”. The article’s undoubted applicability to O’Brien’s story provides the reader with significant information about the war, and a solid background of it and the specific events that truly took place. I could easily make the argument that Vietnam was indeed a terrible place filled with evil and death, given the information from the story and the article. Knowing about the historical context of the Vietnam War is very necessary in order to effectively understand Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” because it provides thorough information regarding what life was like in the War and the events that occurred, which helps the reader further understand the story with a more thoughtful, deeper analysis. The article also gives a lot more intriguing information like how the Vietnam War was 14 years, was the first war to be televised, leading to anti-war protests around the world, and collectively how the war was very violent, unnecessary, and disgraceful.

“PTSD and Vietnam Veterans” is an article about the horrific post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its effect on Vietnam War veterans. According to a reliable medical source’s website, Mayo Clinic, PTSD is defined as a “mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event.” (Mayo Clinic) The author is responding to a previous study conducted by R.J. McNally about PTSD on Vietnam War veterans in which he addresses many mischaracterizations that McNally made in his studies. He corrects many mistakes McNally made in his calculations and protocol in diagnosing the PTSD patients. A lot of statistics are used by the author to give the reader a good idea of the number of cases and percentages of veterans that suffer from the disorder. The author’s new assumptions about the numbers of veterans suffering with PTSD are much more accurate and up to date than McNally’s previous, less efficient study. He states that his “new rate means that 236,000 veterans currently have PTSD from the Vietnam War, an enormous long-term emotional and human cost of war.” (Vermetten, 184) All of the numbers provided in the article gives readers valid information about the actual number of veterans that suffer from the unfortunate, war-induced disorder. When the historical context, like some of the terrible events of the Vietnam War, are applied to the article, the reader can further understand how war can actually cause a man to develop PTSD and how many are really affected. The numbers are astonishingly large and show the true human cost that results from the war, not only including casualties. When the historical context of the Vietnam War in all three texts applies to each other, they interconnect and effectively provide a much deeper understanding of the texts, the events that took place, PTSD, and collectively the War as a whole.
