Tim O’Brien goes into great detail about the weight of the specific military items that the soldiers carry from place to place, but the weight of these items does not even come close to the weight of the emotional baggage that lies deeper in their hearts. O’Brien describes just how much weight these men are willing to tolerate on their backs emphasizing how unbearable their situation truly was. O’Brien …show more content…
They all were terrified of death and were even more terrified to show their fears. The Vietnam War did this to them, they would turn into young men just to have to leave and never look back at their old lives. They prayed to God begging him to end this horrific chapter of their lives. They carried much more than just materialist things on their back they carried the emotional baggage of death everywhere they went along with thought of grief, guilt, terror, love, and longing. They carried shameful memories, most of which left them with psychological pain such as post traumatic stress disorder. The Vietnam War ended in 1975 however, the emotional and psychological fear did not. That would remain with them