Vietnam Soldiers

– “They Carried Ghosts” Essay, Research Paper

Vietnam Soldiers – “They Carried Ghosts”

Essay submitted by Tavia

The relationship between the soldiers of the Vietnam War was different from the

relationships with people from home. The soldiers felt as if they could not tell the whole

truth about the war through their eyes to their loved ones at home. The soldiers that

they were with all the time understood the pain and confusion each other felt, yet no

one talked about it. War changed how people had relationships with others. War could

bring people closer or tear them apart.

The relationships between the soldiers and their families grew or forced them to

become distant. The soldier did not want to worry his parents at home and knew that

they would not understand what he was going through. In the Documentary Dear

America: Letters Home from Vietnam, directed by Bill Couturie, showed these

relationships change. One soldier writes to his mother and tells her that for a second,

he felt as if he was on vacation because it was so beautiful in Vietnam. One had to

think that this man wrote this to his mother only for her to worry less. He did not want

to tell her the whole truth on what was really going on inside of him. Would anyone

from the outside world understand. “P.S. tell mom not to worry, there is nothing I can’t

handle.” The soldiers could handle the physical horrors that were happening to them,

but the mental status of many the soldiers were becoming breakable. How could you

tell someone not to worry about you, when you do not even care what was going to

happen to yourself. The soldiers were all prepared to die, but waiting was what was

driving them crazy. They did not want to tell their 17-year-old girlfriend at home this

because she would never understand. How do you tell someone that you love that you

are loosing your mind and do even know who the enemy is anymore. Downplaying the

whole war situation to your loved one was the only way to keep yourself sane and not

make them worry too much about you. All of the men were scared, yet did not know

how to show it. They could not show it to their families in letters because that could

do nothing but make your mother worry that you were not going to make it. “We all

scared, one can see this emotion in each individual, some hide it with their mouth and

others hide it with their actions. There is no way around it. We all scared.” The soldiers

of the Vietnam War were terrified only because they did not want to die. Humans are

not born killers, and do not know how to play the role of one. The soldiers tried to play

this role as best as they could, but some failed. The families and loved ones of the men

of the war did not know the role playing was taken place because the soldiers did not

want to share it with them. What could someone at home do make them less

frightened. The soldiers did not want people at home worrying about them. “Don’t

worry about me, it wont do anyone could.” Having people who love you worrying about

you all the time only puts more pressure on the soldiers than they already had. The felt

they were forced into a job they did not want to do but must do it anyway. “I’m

scared, not scared enough to quit, I am a marine.” The relationships between the

soldiers and their loved ones changed to do the fact that the experiences of war could

not be demonstrated onto a piece of paper. Their families were not there and did not

experience what the soldiers did. The loved ones of the soldiers grew closer to the

soldiers only out of worry. The soldiers grew closer to their families because they did

not want to die. “Vietnam can kill me, but it can’t make be care.” is the Poster slogan

of the movie Full Metal Jacket, directed by Stanley Kubrick. The men who were send to

train to go to the Vietnam War shared a special relationship between each other that

no one from the outside world could understand. They were all scared, yet did not

know what they were in for. They knew they could die, but that was not a huge worry

for them at that moment. The pain and sadness of going to war was shared with all the

men in this camp. Full Metal Jacket showed how the Vietnam War made different

relationships between the men fighting in it. They all shared different bonds with each

other over different reasons. Some of these marines did not want to show their fear to

anyone because it would make them look weak. Private Joker was someone who was

terrified of war, but did not want to show it to anyone else. Private Pyle represented

the fear and anxiety in all of the soldiers in the war. Private Joker felt the same fear in

Pyle and tried to help Pyle and himself overcome the fear. Joker did not want to admit

that the insecurities Pyle had were feelings he shared. This was why he hesitated and

then hit Pyle five times with the bar of soap and towel, four times more than everyone

else

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