“THE THINGS THEY CARRIED”

By Tim O’Brien

Some carried simple things like:

-marijuana-toilet paper-mosquito repellant-pocket knives-guns-granades

Others carried more meaningful things:

-letters-good luck charms-responsibility-love…

Depending on their rank or specialty, they carried certain things:

-Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried compasses and

maps.-Medic, Rat Kiley,

carried morphine and a first aid

kit.

Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, in particular, carried a great amount of love for Martha.

He would daydream of her while at war.

Hoping that one day she would love him as much as he loved her.

.One day, outside of the Than Khe area, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross was distracted (once again), wondering if Martha was a virgin.

While his imagination went wild, Ted Lavender was shot and killed when he was on his way back from using the bathroom.

Lieutenant Jimmy Cross certainly felt guilty for the loss of his soldier.

He truly believed that all the thinking about Martha was making him a bad soldier and he couldn’t live with it.

Guilt?

What could he do to prevent another daydream about Martha distract him from his duty to the soldiers?

-Yes..He burnt the two pictures of her and all the letters from her.

As a lieutenant, the soldiers are his responsibility.

By getting rid of the thought of Martha, maybe he can be a better leader.

VIETNAM WAR FOOTAGE…SO SAD…