Blame For Death In Tim O Brien's Things They Carried

When a soldier dies in war a certain question is often asked. That question is who’s to blame for his/hers death? Some may say that there is no one to blame and it was a freak accident. Some people say that there must be someone to blame for each death. The leaders of units may often blame themselves for the death because it was one of their men that died. Others will blame themselves if they think for whatever reason that they could have prevented the death. In most cases there is no one to blame, but people blame themselves to make there be a reason for his/her death and it is a way of coping with it. In the book, Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, a question that is being asked amongst the soldiers is who’s fault is it? I believe that in war it is always the leader's fault for someone’s death. They are his men, and his responsibility. Therefore, in the book Jimmy Cross is to blame for Kiowa’s death in Vietnam. Jimmy Cross is the lieutenant of a unit in Vietnam. Kiowa was killed under Jimmy’s command while in Vietnam. As the leader of the group anyone’s actions are Jimmy’s responsibility, and any death that occurs is his fault. He is the leader and his goal is to complete the mission and get all of his men back …show more content…
If a soldier “Willfully disobeys a lawful command of his superior commissioned officer; shall be punished, if the offense is committed in time of war, by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct, and if the offense is committed at any other time, by such punishment, other than death, as a court-martial may direct” (powers). Any soldier will listen to what their commander has to say because they trust him. Kiowa was just following orders given by Cross. Any one of the soldiers could have died, but on this day it was Kiowa. There was nothing Kiowa did to make him have a greater chance of dying, he was just doing as he was told along with the rest of his