Philip Caputo’s A Rumor of War has a continuing theme that people are not capable of truly understanding the atrocities that happen during war unless they experience them for themselves; furthermore, preparing soldiers for these tragedies that they will encounter is impossible. Though this is true in all wars, the Vietnam War is unique, because these aspects were present in the most extreme way. This led to Vietnam impacting soldiers in a way that other wars never had. Caputo provides examples throughout the narrative that support how unique Vietnam was, the effects of war on soldiers, and the failure to properly understand war. Soldiers cannot be properly prepared for true combat, no matter how extensive the training they go through is.
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Soldiers minds were severely affected due to indoctrination, being exposed to traumatic events, and intense living conditions. Soldiers were taught to love killing and they were continuously reminded that killing was enjoyable. After seeing the savagery elicited by the Viet Kong and deaths among their friends and comrades soldiers began to go numb of feelings. They became ravenous for killing and felt proud of murder. “once men been killing it is not easy to stop them”(Caputo 118) Their minds had been so corrupted that they went to the extent of showing off body parts as trophies. These killing sprees sometimes caused soldiers to feel remorse for their actions, which only harmed their mind even more. Caputo states, “Guilt washed over me because I was asking God to help me kill” (Caputo 264). He was praying to God that he could kill, and while he felt bad fro doing so, it did not change that he wanted to kill. Soldiers had to live with the fact that they had a hunger for murder. These events filling their minds and corrupting them caused them to become enthralled with war and what was going on, soldiers forgot what real life was like. “when i think of her, I find it difficult to remember her face clearly”(Caputo 97). Their minds were so changed that they could not even remember how the faces of their girlfriends
Soldiers minds were severely affected due to indoctrination, being exposed to traumatic events, and intense living conditions. Soldiers were taught to love killing and they were continuously reminded that killing was enjoyable. After seeing the savagery elicited by the Viet Kong and deaths among their friends and comrades soldiers began to go numb of feelings. They became ravenous for killing and felt proud of murder. “once men been killing it is not easy to stop them”(Caputo 118) Their minds had been so corrupted that they went to the extent of showing off body parts as trophies. These killing sprees sometimes caused soldiers to feel remorse for their actions, which only harmed their mind even more. Caputo states, “Guilt washed over me because I was asking God to help me kill” (Caputo 264). He was praying to God that he could kill, and while he felt bad fro doing so, it did not change that he wanted to kill. Soldiers had to live with the fact that they had a hunger for murder. These events filling their minds and corrupting them caused them to become enthralled with war and what was going on, soldiers forgot what real life was like. “when i think of her, I find it difficult to remember her face clearly”(Caputo 97). Their minds were so changed that they could not even remember how the faces of their girlfriends