When it comes to talking about war, people barely ever want to talk about it. We say a few words and quickly move on to the next subject. People tend to forget about what a soldier is dealing with everyday. The media depicts them as killers who have ruined the lives of many civilians. For example, every news channel shows the horrors of war, never the good that’s happening from the strength of our soldiers. “The Things They Carried” really made me take a closer look at what a soldier “carries” with them on the battlefield. It’s not just the equipment or guns they carry, but rather what’s running through their mind when it comes to issues such as love or death. We don’t understand the façade they need to carry in order for the men not to see just how fearful they are for their life. They grasp on to letters of their loves with a hope that maybe they will be remembered on the battlefield. That the country their fighting for didn’t forget them in the process.
My heart breaks for the soldiers who are defending our country as I write this. I really will never be able to fully comprehend the emotion and pain each soldier will face as they are fighting for our country. I don’t know what it’s like to watch my best friend be blown up by a suicide bomber. Or to question if this will be my last day. Reading this story has given me a new understanding on what my grandfather faced as a soldier during WWII. While fighting at the battle of Iwo Jima, he saw things that he wouldn’t repeat even to his dying day. This war inflicted scars and memories that was part of him for the rest of his life. He refused to eat Japanese food or purchase a Japanese made vehicle. He hated the Japanese. People thought it was wrong of him to harbor such hate, but what they didn’t understand was the horror he saw with his own eyes. Such as a grenade blowing up his best friend or the malice Japan had as they dropped bombs on ships that held his fellow soldiers at Pearl Harbor. Unless we are a soldier who has fought in a war, we will never be able to fully understand what a soldier carries with him every day in battle.
My heart breaks for the soldiers who are defending our country as I write this. I really will never be able to fully comprehend the emotion and pain each soldier will face as they are fighting for our country. I don’t know what it’s like to watch my best friend be blown up by a suicide bomber. Or to question if this will be my last day. Reading this story has given me a new understanding on what my grandfather faced as a soldier during WWII. While fighting at the battle of Iwo Jima, he saw things that he wouldn’t repeat even to his dying day. This war inflicted scars and memories that was part of him for the rest of his life. He refused to eat Japanese food or purchase a Japanese made vehicle. He hated the Japanese. People thought it was wrong of him to harbor such hate, but what they didn’t understand was the horror he saw with his own eyes. Such as a grenade blowing up his best friend or the malice Japan had as they dropped bombs on ships that held his fellow soldiers at Pearl Harbor. Unless we are a soldier who has fought in a war, we will never be able to fully understand what a soldier carries with him every day in battle.
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