1A) The Vietnam War, often thought by many as unnecessary, was a crushing, traumatic experience to all the men and women who were involved in it. Most of the soldiers were just kids who were essentially taken away from their families to fight a war they did not care about. While in the jungles of Vietnam they quickly began to learn that they were fighting for something important. If not to help the oppressed people in Vietnam it was a fight for their own lives. Upon returning from war, the soldiers that were still alive, thought of themselves as heroes. This was not the popular opinion in the states however. They were treated like prisoners when they returned, which just added fuel to the fire of post traumatic stress disorder.
             While involved in Vietnam, John experienced many traumatic events. The first was actually going to Vietnam. He was just a nineteen year old kid who should have just been starting college. His life was just beginning and before he knew it, his life was stolen away. Going to Vietnam changed John, and thousands like him, forever. He was no longer the kid he used to be. Within a few days he was turned into a man and saw things most men will never see. John arrived and most of the other veteran soldiers would not have any thing to do with the new guys. This put them on their own and it was up to them to learn. The learning process for them was very quick. If you did not learn how to survive in Vietnam you would die.
             Fighting the NVA was extremely difficult for John or any other soldiers. They were basically fighting in their backyard. The NVA knew every hiding spot and were able to set ambushes wherever the US troops went. Because of this the US army decided to spray all the foliage with a chemical know as Agent Orange. Not only did this chemical kill the plant life that it touched, it also gave cancer to anyone it fell upon. It was hard enough to fight without being infected by your own...