WAR BONDS
With all the negativity that is part of war sometimes it hard to realize that conflicts have positives. I do not mean the battles won or lost, or the defeat of an enemy. I speak of friendship the bond that binds fighting men and woman together. This seen to only be on the victor’s side, but these bonds that last a lifetime and can cross boarders they are universal. In his fictional journal The Things They Carried Tim O’Brien shows just how these bonds are forged and some are lost in a physical since, but the emotions and memories are with you for the duration.
You see this in the books dedication one that maybe given to the real men or to the faded picture that these men where or since it a book of fiction it might be a dedication to O’Brien’s own imagination
“This book is lovingly dedicated to the men of Alpha Company, and in particular to Jimmy Cross, Norman Bowker, Rat Kiley, Mitchell Sanders, Henry Dobbins and Kiowa”
The bond is real the world and memories have fade, but the feelings have not you get this by the fact that O’Brien repeating
“I am 43 now and a writer”
Why to remind himself perhaps that yes today he is a writer, but once he was part of something special he was a soldier with men he loved. Some of these men died, the strangest part is the fact that it not just them men in his unit that he shares this bond with it is the very enemy they fought. They too forge bonds and carry things. They also wonder did I kill that man, was it my mistake that got others killed the to carry the guilt of wartime bonds. These men on both sides can both feel and understand O’Brien when makes the statement
“I want you to feel what I felt. I want you to know why story-truth is truer sometimes than happening-truth.”
They have all been a part of the truth and must live with the story! But his tie can still been seen to day with those who fought together and those who fought against. This bond can be split and rekindle by chance.
Or sometimes it can is done to remember those fallen on both sides.
Those once enemy’s now share the story of war the pains, and the joys. War is not a pleasant thing, but the friendships that are formed go beyond those in a civilian world we talk about the war and here in are blog’s we try to analyze it, but we can never understand these friendships because they are not built on simple trust they are built in forge and fire of conflict and this is a truth that you must know to have this type of union.
The Things They Carried Tim O’Brien
April 14th, 2008 at 11:17 am
I like your observation that their is a bond formed with every aspect of war. I had to think about this because I realized that it is true but one of those ideas that is natural, the kind you don’t have to think about. The obvious bond is that of the comrades. The not so obvious one is that of the one with the country. There are always good people stuck in the middle of conflict and their is always innocence disrupted. Whether through acclimation or actual fondness I grew to like the countryside of Iraq. I knew it pretty well and came to know the people rather well. It was a strange relationship but it resembled home in some cases. When on patrol their was a house we used to pass where an elderly woman lived. She liked us because having us so close kept her home safe so every time we walked, excuse me, patrolled by she would give us fresh hoobas. It’s an incredibly good Iraqi bread and a better alternative to MRE’s. You get to know the land and what is safe. When we left I was a bit surprised to feel a bit disappointed. The bond that is formed then does extend to more than comrades but it’s through them that one can relive it. It is very much an O’Brien experience.
April 15th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
In his fictional journal The Things They Carried Tim O’Brien shows just how these bonds are forged and some are lost in a physical since, but the emotions and memories are with you for the duration.
This may sound weird, but in a way I’m jealous. I wish I could have an deep connection with a group of people that would be timeless. Here at school, when you meet someone it’s usually in class. You may click, talk through the class, be in groups together or whatever, but when the semester ends, the friendship does too. It’s a big jump from classmates to real friends that takes a lot of time and you have to put a lot of effort in to it to make it work.
But I’m selfish enough not to want to go to war to make those kind of bonds.
There aren’t too many situations where you get thrown into that you have to instantly trust the people around you and protect people you don’t know.
Honestly, I think I could mentally handle being away from everyone I know and everything I love to do the same boring thing, day after day, it’s the boot camp that would do me in.
April 18th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
In war, I think that friendships are a bad idea. It’s interesting to put the word “positive” and “war” in the same sentence. Bonds are fine in life, but, really, they serve no purpose in war. I don’t want to sound cold-hearted, I’m just trying to be practical. If bonds are made between soldiers and one of them gets blown up, then the other is gonna go through that whole “mental anguish” thing. Having team members is one thing, but having “bonds” with people is another. I think that in times of war and battle, a soldier must only have their mission, and their bravery. If bonds are to be made, then it should be after the fact, and not during.
April 29th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
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