Tim O’Brien’s memoir If I Die In a Combat Zone narrates his journey months before his deployment into the Vietnam war, combat experience, and journey back to America. He started when he graduated from college in 1968 and received a summer draft notice, but he was reluctant to go due to his intellectual and ethical grounds. However, he goes half-heartedly as he does not want to shame his father, who was part of the World War II soldiers. Again, other young men in his hometown, Minnesota, had fought in the Korean war. He meets Erik, who share a commonality; poetry lovers, intellectuals, and hate for war. O’Brien again wants to desert the army (Pg. 43) but stops again after the idea of shaming the family crosses his mind. He is assigned to the front line in an Alpha company where soldiers die, touch, and kill people without being concerned much. He is later reassigned to be a typist at their headquarters before completing his military service and going home in 1970.
O’Brien addresses the college graduates of what society expects from them. Being intellectually capable was accompanied by being brave by going to war. However, the graduates and college students argue that “no war is worth losing your life for.” (Pg. 22). Again, they try to say a way one can stay alive when their country is at war. Throughout the book, O’Brien tries to depict war as an unpleasant activity that nations should not partake in. As much as people need to protect their territory, he advocates for other existing ways. Throughout the memoir, one gets to read about the killing of two American soldiers (Pg. 34). In another case, there is the killing of innocent civilians in combat. A reporter asked if there was a “distinction between killing people you know to be the enemy and slaying one hundred people when no one is shooting.” (Pg. 138). From these two scenarios, one gets to realize that war is unpleasant. The author addresses the leaders in various departments on the need to treat their subordinates well. He uses the example of Captain Johansen, who was courageous and treated his juniors well and hence was loved. He was also reasonable as he did not execute fruitless ambushes that could put his team in danger (Pg. 147).
The aim of the war is a concept that triggers O’Brien on the need to go on with it or just desert. On the battlefield, O’Brien and Barney are shot at by a sniper, who does not know where they are. Instead of understanding where they are discharged, they start chatting about Cleveland (Pg. 9). The scene makes one wonder about the need to come to war since they are not fighting back but just dodging bullets and not trying to know the shooter. Additionally, they count the number of times snipers have shot at them without them shooting back. They are not bothered by any impending danger. In another instance, O’Brien lets Barney walk meters ahead of him since he knows he won’t look carefully at the mines while stepping. Barney was “not one to worry about land mines. Or snipers. Or dying. He just didn’t worry.” (Pg. 9). The two shared some commonalities of hating war; hence one sees the need for them to be in the front instead of just deserting. At that exact moment, O’Brien thinks it is a waste of time to look for abandoned villages. In the search, the American soldiers hope. “to find nothing.” (Pg. 12). Upon finding the tunnels, they do not look into them, throwing grenades into them. At this point, one wonders about the aim of the war as the soldiers are unbothered and uninterested.
In his upbringing, O’Brien believed that war was right since both parents served in the military and fought World War II. However, after college and becoming an intellectual, he believes war is wrong, which causes death which he thinks is evil. However, he believes that war shows patriotism. He feels there is no need for the fight to go on, but his “little energy cannot stand against the weight of his community’s expectation.” (Pg. 56). He fears being exiled if he decides not to fight. One night, fellow Americans prank others with an ambush, an activity that led to the wounding of one soldier. The boredom explained as the reason for the prank indicates that this war was not a right for the people, just a notion that people spread around to make people participate.
In modern society, people despise war as they affect many people. As nations fight, innocent civilians, especially children and women, are always disadvantaged, causing more harm than good. There is the advocation of peaceful co-existence in modern communities as nations depend on each other. Therefore, the discouragement of war advocated by O’Brien is still relevant in contemporary society. Moreover, considering war as a right that people have to fight since their parents served at some point in the military is outdated. People have choices to choose from. However, some children follow their parents’ career paths.
‘Pro Patria gives O’Brien a challenge on what he should do given his parents, and fellow Minnesota young men have fought for their countries. The term that means my country shapes the narrative as readers get to know the history of the author and the surrounding he grew up with. For example, “I grew out of one war and into another. My father came from leaden ships of the sea, from the Pacific theater; my mother was a WAVE.” (Pg. 16). These wars were in the quest of protecting their nation’s interests. At the same time, he thinks his existence is a replacement if the many soldiers who died in the war zones. As he grows, one realizes that the majority of his teachers were ladies. The population includes classroom football coaches, and most of them are the “flushed veterans of war.” (Pg. 16). Through this narrative, one understands why the war for ‘pro-Patria is essential to the people. The importance plays a role in O’Brien accepting the drafting even though he wants to desert the battle each time due to his intellectual instincts.
‘Dulce et decorum est pro-Patria mori’ signifies a role that some people are unwilling to play in the memoir. Erik reflects on why they are at war as a forced scenario. He says, “Here we are. Mama has been kissed good-bye, we’ve grabbed our rifles, we’re ready for war. All this not because of conviction, not for ideology; rather it’s from fear of society’s censure.” (Pg. 33). The quote is misleading since not all people are willing to die for their country. Erik, Barney, and O’Brien are on the war front because they fear being called weak and their manhood being questioned. They are in a zone where they consider themselves not brave, not heroes (Pg. 34), and in a situation, they feel is unpleasant. Further, Erik narrates how they are supposed to wake up at three o’clock in the morning. In a nutshell, the statement about being sweet and fulfilling to die for one’s country is misleading and ambiguous.
Fast forward, the soldiers are not interested in the war. Barney and O’Brien dodge bullets from the sniper, uninterested in locating him to return fire. Additionally, Captain Johansen disobeyed direct commands in a quest that could help keep his team safe. The step is to avoid fruitless ambushes, which lead to his demotion. The same fate is the same for his successor Captain Smith who is inexperienced, leading to poor leadership decisions, which leads to massive casualties in Alpha Company. “Captain Smith admitted that he was a coward in their respective camps” (Pg. 105). Captain Smith can therefore be grouped among the people that were not willing to die for their country. Instead, they went into the war half-heartedly.
Malpractices mar the Vietnam War in the history of America by soldiers, mistreatment, and disruption of normal livelihood. For example, there were constant deaths of innocent civilians as some soldiers did not differentiate between the enemy and ordinary citizens. One gets to understand this through the reporter talking to O’Brien. Further, an Alpha Company shoots at animals as a practice drill while going to one village near Pinkville. From that encounter, one understands it was not the first time the same had happened. The soldiers had done the same in Fort Lewis. The soldiers do this with a smile (Pg. 139). One deduced that the wars were marred by the disruption of innocent people’s livelihoods. The battle was wrongly conceived and poorly justified (Pg. 18).
In the current military engagement, people engage willingly as they try to pursue their goals and achieve their dreams. However, parents feel like their children should follow their career paths in some cases. Their engagements are a matter of following commands from their superiors. With that, courage, justice, and patriotism partially still play a role in decision-making. Nowadays, soldiers get drafted after applications rather than obligations. Additionally, foot soldiers are constantly monitored, and their activities are scrutinized to avoid shedding the blood of innocent people.
Work Cited
O’Brien, Tim. If I Die in a Combat Zone: Box Me Up and Ship Me Home. Broadway Books, 1973.