Packing List

After reading “The Things They Carried”, by Tim O’Brien, I was a little put off by how he first described Jimmy Cross. Mainly because I know the duties of the officers that are leading platoons and he was painted as a mindless lieutenant that could care less about the men that he was leading. Luckily by the end of the excerpt Jimmy Cross sort of redeemed himself by finally realizing that there are more important things that wandering around daydreaming about some girl from back home. His job is to lead the men of his platoon and provide guidance so that they do not do stupid things that could get them killed. Smoking dope and drinking while on patrol is also an absurd statement since that is nowhere near available to them. Also O’Brien states that they carried tranquilizers and morphine. What most Americans do not know is that no matter what injury it is for our soldiers are given nothing more than ibuprofen. Honestly it was a little unnerving altogether that O’Brien would even say that the soldiers would be carrying such things. It is stories like these that make people believe that our soldiers are overseas for nothing but a paycheck. I guess that is the veteran and military wife coming out in me. It is sad that I should feel the need to have to defend what our military is doing overseas. However, the story did point out some good points about the other things that soldiers carry. O’Brien says, “They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die.” Now that is something to think about. Sure those men are tough, but deep down they carry the fear that the next minute could be their last. I think it is heartbreaking that our military risks their lives so that you can live yours, without so much as even a thank you from most people. Thankfully, by the end of the story Lt. Cross reminds himself that his obligation was not to be loved but to lead. That statement makes him sound more like an officer and one that I would prefer to be in charge if my husband were part of his platoon.

O’Brien, T. (2010). The Things They Carried. In M. Krasney and M. E. Sokolik (Editors) Sound Ideas (pp. 406-420). New York: McGraw-Hill.