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Roger Bonsant
Field
LNG 405
9 November 2010
stomach believe”. Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried argues that the true war story is its
own kind of beast, and that it cannot simply be emulated by pretty words and good storytelling.
The American people typically see war through the lenses of politicians and through newspapers
and television screens which often do little justice in reporting the truth. Tim O’Brien allows us
to view this conflict from the different but very real perspective of the soldier, from the eyes of
the men and women who find themselves doing battle overseas for their country. Directed by
Randall Wallace, We Were Soldiers Once and Young presents the Vietnam War from several
perspectives, but most notably from that of the soldiers. This visualization of the gruesome
battles that take place helps to aid our minds in comprehending the crude and unforgiving nature
of true wartime combat. Both of these representations allow us to truly understand the incredible
hardships suffered not only by these men alone, but also by those who hold them dear.
It may be argued that although war is a very physical machine, fighting as a soldier also
comes is also an incredibly emotional experience that is the mark of a true war story. There are
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many emotional experiences to be observed in We Were Soldiers Once and Young. When asked
by reporters the number of casualties after the battle, Lt. Col. Hal Moore gives no reply. Another
under-ranking officer also withholds his answer when asked the same question immediately
afterwords. Only the soldiers who fought with the men who died could truly understand the
enormous grief felt by the loss of every single man who took up arms to defend their country,
while the press were only interested in numbers. While both forces exchange blood, countless
lives are lost and only those who held those lost souls dear or fought alongside them can truly
appreciate the emotional aspects that the war carries. This quote from John Steinbeck's Why
Soldiers Won't Talk argues the same message: “In all kinds of combat the whole body is battered
by emotion” (Steinbeck 1116). According to these sources and many others, the true story finds
Many will also argue that the experience in and of itself is the true war story. In other
words, from this perspective, a true war story really can't be told. O'Brien takes this position in
The Things They Carried, “They Won't understand zip. It's like trying to tell somebody what
chocolate tastes like” (O'Brien 108). It may also be understood from reading the story that the
war is a personal matter in itself to every individual man and woman who find themselves
involved. When the recollection blends itself with personal perspective, one may wonder if the
truth lay forgotten in the process, perhaps intentionally. O'Brien shows us how there might not
be a lesson or moral to be learned from the story, and how it will not be understood even if it is
told; “ 'In a true war story, if there's a moral at all, it's like the thread that makes the cloth. You
can't tease it out. You can't extract the meaning without unraveling the deeper meaning. And in
the end, really, there's nothing much to say about a true war story, except maybe 'Oh' ”(O'Brien
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74). O'Brien argues that the truth cannot be told because the different truths contradict one
another, “War is hell, but that's not the half of it, because war is also mystery and terror and
adventure and courage and discovery and holiness and pity and despair and longing and love.
War is nasty; war is fun. War is thrilling; war is drudgery. War makes you a man. War makes
you dead. The truths are contradictory” (O'Brien 76). The underlying message here is, since the
The true war story is very physical in nature, as it lends itself death and destruction,
dismemberment and slaughter, and to laborious combat and strategy. The soldiers that belong to
each respective army do battle and partake in a game that plays in exchanging blood. Many
soldiers recall that it becomes increasingly easy to lose sight of reason, and some even come to
think of their objective as pointless slaughter. O'Brien presents this idea in his story as well,
“You take a feeble swipe at the dark and thing, Christ, what's the point?”(O'Brien 79). To deny
the physical nature of war only in favor of the emotional and physiological aspects is to deny the
warfare itself. We Were Soldiers Once and Young certainly pays tribute to this hellish aspect of
warfare with its shocking visualizations of true combat situations that depict heavily graphic
deaths, including even unfortunate events of friendly fire. This theme also pays tribute to the
idea that the true war story can only be experienced, for the combat is also something that only