The Vietnam War

Tim O’Brien’s If I Die in a Combat Zone

There are so many events in history that it is impossible to know them all. Despite that fact, there are many different sources on events that happened in history. Each source has their unique style of illustrating an event and depending on what works best for the readers; sometimes a combination of sources will give the readers a better understanding of the event or there may be just one that better exemplify the event. An event that will be looked at is the Vietnam War. The occurrence of the Vietnam War will always be remembered as a time when America has to deal with many controversial issues. There are two books that can assist us in understanding the controversial. The first book is If I Die in a Combat Zone by Tim O’Brien; it’s a searing, intensely personal account of O’Brien’s experience as a Vietnam foot soldier that takes readers behind the infantryman’s rifle from minefields of My Lai to the darkness of the ghostly tunnels. The second book is Lyndon Johnson’s War by Michael Hunt. It’s an attempt to explain how the United States came to be drawn into the conflict in Southeast Asia by using current American and Vietna

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In illustrating the war, he gave the reader the perspective of the soldier. It seemed that he was afraid of losing his reputation and what his friends and family might think of him if he does run away. Another way to look at it is using the analogy of a chess game. ”

Another aspect that O’Brien has of the war is that after the five long years of inconclusive war, the morale of American soldiers deteriorated, and frustration and anger built up. To begin with, the officer corps is dominated by white men; the corps of foot soldiers, common grunts, is disproportionately black. ” And again O’Brien showed his opposition of the war when he asked to receive advice from Chaplain. More than 100 unarmed South Vietnamese civilians were slaughtered. They’re like unarmed soldiers—they dumb and they die; they’re smart, they run, they hide, then they live” I was shock to see the authority figure in the military to have this perspective. “The AWOL bag was ready to go, but I wasn’t… I burned the letters to my family. He argued that “there’s little evidence the South Vietnam under the Communists will be worse place than a South Vietnam ruled by a Diem or a Khanh. After comparing and contrasting between the two books, I believe that Tim O’Brien If I Die in a Combat Zone is a better representation of the Vietnam War. ” So in the end, he decided to go off to war.

Approximate Word count = 2255
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)

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