Union Army

victories over the many Roman armies. Hannibal was able to create tactics that were unheard of during his time that could not be matched by any other army. He was constantly victorious in his many battles because of his smarts and advancement. Even when he was outnumbered and outgunned, he still managed to pull off a victory. During the battle of Cannae, Hannibal used tactics that ensured his win. The Romans believed that hannibal had no chance because the Roman army was many times the size of…

War and bloodshed mix together like the love and peace the soldiers wished they had. The effects war has on everyone involved is momentous, not to mention the effects it has on people not involved. But most of all, the soldiers who conduct this conundrum know it all the more better. Fighters on the battlefield not only have to deal with their enemies, but with themselves and their comrades. In “The Things They Carried”, the themes of war, courage, innocence and love are present throughout the…

Cheryl Softich, the mother of veteran Noah Pierce who committed suicide, says, “the United States Army turned my son into a killer...They forgot to untrain him, to take that urge to kill away from him.” (qtd. in Wartorn) Noah Pierce served two tours in Iraq and claimed he did terrible things. As a result he suffered the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD and eventually committed suicide. In Ashley Gilbertson’s “The Life and Lonely Death of Noah Pierce,” Ira R. Kats states that…

Between 5 and 7 months, most babies learn that their names refer to themselves. Our identity is developed at such a young age and it will stay with us for our whole lives. We take it with us wherever we go and as we grow it grows with us. It’s who we are. More often than not soldiers who return home from war are not the same people who left home for it. You would have to be crazy to think that they escaped with their mental health intact. Just like the soldiers these boys went through hell on…

In Robin Talmoch Lakoff’s essay, “The Power of Words in Wartime”, the writer depicts her unique perspective involving soldiers and their jargon; she supports these views with an intricate metaphor and meticulous analysis of the causes and effects of war. In the essay, the writer articulates the main cause of war by employing the metaphor, “human beings are social animals”. Meaning, Homo sapiens contain DNA that make them feel compassion towards one another. She, however, argues that in war,…

Who was considered the “foreign other” during the Vietnam War? The act of othering a particular group has long been a signifier or marker of foreign identity or a clash of upheld ideals and standards. From the perspective of American soldiers in the Vietnam War, the “other” is not just the racial military enemy, but also the Americans back at home. Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried accounts a series of fictional and real events of American soldiers serving the Vietnam War, thereby reflecting…

Cowardice and Courage VS. Embarrassment Throughout The Things They Carried, O’Brien shares the horror and truth going into the Vietnam War. He shares very touching and brutal stories throughout his book, sharing the specific jobs the men had and the specific things they must carry. Going into the Vietnam War soldiers are seen as our heroes but deep down inside can they consider themselves heroes. Tim O’Brien shows what he beliefs about masculinity and courage throughout his stories…

'Shame' by Sergeant John ‘BJ’ Lewis (37), Royal Air Force, Iraq (Operation Telic) 2008, taken from 'Heroes' The poem “shame” by BJ Lewis was written in 2008 to reflect the media criticism soldiers faced after participating in the war in Iraq. The title of this poem swiftly introduces us to the theme of this poem and the contemptuous mood in it. The author further uses irony to emphasize this title where he states” “We endured much hardship to do the right thing, With no concept of the guilt and…

know that father's journey to Afghanistan was not only a physical one, but also spiritual. As father stepped on the bus, he wiped his combat boots, detaching himself from all emotional connections. Father’s love crumbled, like the small pieces of hard army biscuits, that fell down the back of the seat. Father’s kindness and patience were shorn off with the strands of his golden-blonde hair that now lies in the dark grains of Afghanistan. Father buried not only his best friends, but also his…

Author Lynda Van Devanter spent one year as a U.S. Army nurse in Viet Nam. In this memoir she talks about that even though nurses who served in Vietnam were not formal combatants they still experienced the same trauma adjusting back to civilian life, long after the war ended. She began the book in the present day, as she still was tormented by night sweats and flashbacks. “Vietnam was the worst time of my life, yet it was also, in many ways, the most important and most intense” (Van Devanter…