Patrick Cawley Analysis

Pat, I visited the war through Patrick Cawley. His story could not have been more unlike what I had expected. Sure, this was a kid of 22 years, but age was not the only thing that astonished me. The fact that affected me the most was that he was like so many people I know. I have heard people tell me the soldiers are just like “you and me”. This relatability is illustrated by the fact that these soldiers are siblings and family members to people I know. However, these soldiers are personally not people I know. I have never met someone that went to war just like I have never seen Ares. This disconnect made it very hard to whole heartedly comprehend something that I had never experienced first hand. I believed the war stories, the Vietnam War existed and that those times were abhorrent. Yet, I had a hard time grasping that these kids were not unlike …show more content…
Pat risked his life for me, my family, and the rest of my world. As a fifteen year old, it is challenging for me to view this world, my world, through the eyes of another human being. I realize Patrick was drafted into war and did not volunteer, but he was a selfless kid. He could have easily written the truth in those letters. He could have complained about how unfair it was that he was there. The fact of the matter is was that he did not. He did not run away. He did not put his pain onto his family to bear for the rest of their lives. He did not give up when times were hard and there seemed to be no reason for him to be there. Even through everything that war inflicts upon a person, Pat was able to keep a sense of humor in his writing. Sometimes the things that you portray to others does not reflect the pain that reflect what people feel inside. Reading those letters and envisioning him inscribing those letters made me understand that the Vietnam War was not just a phrase in a textbook. The war was real and involved ordinary people just like