John. Benner Rhetorical Analysis

I enjoyed hearing Lt. Benner’s recollections of his time in the Vietnam War. It was very insightful to hear about what he experienced. Having had a mother who was around college age at the height to the war I have heard stories of the horrors on the war. Mainly of the damaging effects it had on the mental health. Hearing Lt. Benner speak was a change of pace of what I had become accustomed to.
When I think of Vietnam I think of extreme violence and cruelty. The media displays the war as a terrible crime to the American people. I find it rare for people to make jokes about the time deployed. Movies and documentaries based on the time focus on the atrocities that the United States did in Vietnam. But I found it interesting when he spoke of trading food with his fellow soldiers. He spoke lightheartedly about them trading food with each other like young schoolboys. When I picture war I never think of something like that. He reminded me that they have time to themselves that is not spent fighting. That even when at the base days away from fighting they are able to have lighthearted moments.
The second comment that I found it interesting that Lt. Benner chose to return to Vietnam years later. Most war veterans do not go back to the places they have fought. My …show more content…
In my history class my teacher informed us that we did not lose the Vietnam War. When I argued against that statement, despite how many facts I had, I was told I was wrong. The proof of their victory is in there museums and statues throughout the city. This is something that would not be found in an American museum or memorial. As a solider he knows that we lost but members of a nation still refuse to accept this. I find it interesting how the history books have been written. Some United States textbooks refuse to acknowledge that we lost yet Vietnamese books will portray this. It is interesting how the war is portrayed by these two