... game. This order left the men feeling confused and uncomfortable, as the men were not eager to shoot civilians. The commanders were saying "if he's dead and Vietnamese, he's VC" (74) The battalions went on never-ending search and destroy missions to flush out the Viet Cong and their accomplices. On ... the other men were so distant, as men detach themselves from feeling or showing emotion in the presence of death. "They had lost there first man in battle, and with him, the youthful confidence in their own immortality. Reality had caught up with them, with all of us. As Bradley put ... e...

• Word Count: 2036
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... fair game. This order left the men feeling confused and uncomfortable, as the men were not eager to shoot civilians. The commanders were saying "if he's dead and Vietnamese, he's VC" (74) The battalions went on never-ending search and destroy missions to flush out the Viet Cong and their accomplices. On ... the other men were so distant, as men detach themselves from feeling or showing emotion in the presence of death. "They had lost there first man in battle, and with him, the youthful confidence in their own immortality. Reality had caught up with them, with all of us. As Bradley put ...

• Word Count: 2231
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... setting and characters are used to acknowledge the theme that the Vietnam War takes a toll on ones physical and emotional state. In the story, each man has a different object that they carry that affects their intellectual view on the war. Throughout the story, the author gives us examples of what the ... catching diseases (O' Brien 641). According to the story, these men are marching up mountains and walking through swamps to keep themselves alive. Often times, the land was mined and booby-trapped, and it was SOP for each man to carry a steel-centered, nylon-covered flat jacket, which we...

• Word Count: 1337
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... for possible enemy action. As he observed, he could make out a figure crouched in the distance, working busily with something he couldn't quite see. The man was in civilian clothes but there was a rifle slung over his back- the telltale mark of a Vietcong guerilla. (Feamster Pg.1) Carlos had discovered a VC ... target, an NVA Generals', compound. As usual, Carlos performed admirably while facing patrols walking within twenty yards of where he lay, and a deadly snake inches from his face. One shot, one kill! The NVA General was dead and Carlos was headed home. Carlos returned home and sta...

• Word Count: 2325
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... served his administrative jobs he learned of the deaths of his close friends. One of his men was shot in the back while another was shot by a sniper. Sullivan, the man killed by the sniper, had an expecting wife. He took this news hard. As people kept dying Caputo began to think of himself as "Officer of the ... Dead." These soldiers that he had once worked beside were now being sent out on death missions and he was playing a roll in it. He began to despise the whole staff ... been called dirty rules of war. Some of the rules were that it was okay to shoot an unarmed Vietnamese while ...

• Word Count: 1407
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... two children to bits as they ran along a paddy wall one day... "friendly casualties" (not warm, not fun), "meeting engagement" (ambush), concluding usually with 17 or 117 or 317 enemy dead American losses "described as light" " [p. 222]. By eliminating the human element from their stories, reporters were conveying a distant image of Vietnam warfare to Americans at home. Herr calls this misrepresentation ... that at one point, Herr becomes a warrior himself "propped up behind some sandbags at an airstrip in Can Tho with a .30-caliber automatic in my hands, firing cover for a four-man rea...

• Word Count: 1801
• Approx Pages: 7