...Period I-Search The Life of a Vietnam War Veteran “Sorry kids, Mr. Watson will not be able to come in this year and talk to you all about his experience of the Vietnam War. It’s too difficult for him, to express the pain he went through during the war and after”. As Mrs. Harvey explain to all of us y Mr. Watson is unable to make it this year I sat there wondering why. What made it so difficult not only for him but for all Vietnam veterans to share their experiences with other people. And I am writing this paper to find what why it is hard for these veterans to share and also what kind of conditions do they go through when coming back home. I am not completely unaware about Vietnam War veterans. I know a few things about life of a Vietnam veteran. For example, I know that they are usually suffering from some type of mental health issue. Also many of them are afraid having cancer due to Agent Orange. I am aware that they don’t like to share stories of the war to society or even close ones. Most importantly, I recognize that these men are going through many problems due to that war. Janda 2 Although I did have a general knowledge of Vietnam War Veterans, I wanted to further enhance my knowledge of the topic. The greatest way I felt to got more edcucated abouit this subject was to interview James Watson, Vietnam War Veteran. I have never really understood the motivation and necessary of their problems. I wanted to know how Vietnam War Veterans becomes so changed due to the...
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...Cultural Competency among Our Heroes Dana Smith NUR 531 June 22, 2015 Instructor: Donna Rose Cultural Competency Among Our Heroes Fear of the unknown. We as a people have the propensity to respond based on our fears due to lack of knowledge or information. We must realize that the effect of any given action (or lack thereof) does not change because we do not know. For example, if we never read the warning on a package of cigarettes and never had anyone to tell us that smoking cigarettes will lead to cancer, it does not stop cancer from taking root. Let’s say that we don’t watch the news and we are not internet surfers to know what’s going on around us and a comet is headed towards the earth. The earth is about to be destroyed. Our not knowing is not going to turn the comet in another direction nor stop it from coming and destroying planet earth. We will simply die, not knowing what or how it happened. So not knowing or being aware can cost a person to lose on a small scale and on a large scale (with the larger being your very life). Not knowing can be a roadblock to learning and intelligence. Being smart, competent and on top of your game leads to success in any given area. Incompetence or ignorance can lead to failure, death, poverty, and all kinds of damage spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, and socially (in relationships). Some people think of incompetence as stupidity, or simply not caring about a particular thing. Many use...
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...William Broyles, Jr.: Why Men Love War (1984) ● In what way do the veterans feel a certain ambivalence towards the war, according to Broyles? In one way, the soldiers is raised in the believe that war is a horrible thing you and you can’t like such things. In another way, the men loved being in war. It’s gives them an intoxication, that they can’t have any other way. ● How does he portray the life of a Vietnam veteran? Invariably filled with boozy awkwardness, forced camaraderie ending in sadness and tears. ● Explain and comment on the following statement: "There were no metaphors that connected the war to everyday life." (p. 130). Vietnam veteran why talk about everyday life it makes absolutely no sense when you’ve been in war and you’ve experienced so many things and you can’t connect war and everyday life, the difference is too big. ● Explain and comment on the following sentence: "War is the enduring condition of man …" (p. 131). It is a male instinct to experience war at some point in his life. The text says; “There is a reason for every war and a war for every reason.” There is always an excuse for war. ● How does Broyles characterise himself? Why does he miss the war at some points? Djdj ● Sum up the reasons Broyles gives for why men love war. In this connection, comment on the statements below. Find more statements that explain why men love war and comment on them: ◦ War is an escape from the everyday (p. 133) ◦ War is a game (p. 133) ...
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...“Facing It”: A Poetry Analysis The Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall in Washington, D.C. is a unique setting for Yusef Komunyakaa's poem "Facing It". Not only does the wall display the names of the American military troops who died in the war, the wall is made of polished stone so those who look at it can see their own faces reflecting off the names of the dead. By facing "it", the Memorial, the speaker also finds himself in the face of other "its", including his past as a veteran and his mixed feelings about the present. In Komunyakaa’s poem, “Facing It”, he uses imagery and metaphor to shed light on the psychological impact of war and loss. At the start of the poem, “Facing It”, Yusef Komunyakaa uses imagery to indicate his race in the first lines. He writes “My black face fades, / hiding inside the black granite" (lines 1-2). The word ‘black’ has been repeated twice in these lines, once to explain his skin color and the other in relation to the color of the war memorial. By Komunyakaa doing this he not only has made it known that he is an African American, but he also creates a connection between himself and the color of the memorial wall. He becomes one with the wall as he goes on to explain that his face “fades” and “hides inside” the granite. The outline of his face that allows him to be noticeable from the memorial vanishes, and he and the memorial have become one item. This coming together is not only on a general level, as his face goes "inside" the granite, but he is...
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...The Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall was constructed in 1982 in Washington D.C. and designed by Maya lin. This wall honors the service members who died fighting in the Vietnam War. During the 60’s over one third of Americans were against the war. Because of this, there were groups that lead anti-war protests. Many of these people where again the war because of the draft. I have known many people that where drafted during this time. One of those people was my farter who joined the Air Force because his draft number was up and served in the Vietnam War. I can remember walking in a mall with my dad in the mid 70’s and a woman yelling at him calling him a baby killer. I was only eight or nine at the time but I can still see her yelling today. This is why the wall is so very important to Vietnam Veterans. This wall shows that over fifty eight thousand men and women died for their service during this war. This wall is more than just a large piece of art for many people it is a memorial of their loved ones and friends. The Raft of the Medusa is a painting based on an event during the artist Theodore Gericault’s lifetime. The event was a ship call the Medusa stuck a sand bar and had to be abandon. The captain only let wealthy and well-connected people use the lifeboats. This forced the rest of the crew to make a raft out of parts of the ship. The rate at one time held 149 people but only fifteen survived to rescue. Shortly after their rescue five more die. The painting shows a makeshift...
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...Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Maya Lin, 1982. Maya Lin's "Vietnam Veterans Memorial," is a monument in Washington D.C. honoring those who perished in the Vietnam war. It is comprised of two large black polished slabs of stone, which connect perpendicularly to create a recessed v in the side of the Earthen landscape. The names of the fallen and missing soldiers are etched into the stone. "Vietnam Veterans Memorial" is a groundbreaking composition and a first of its kind, but it is also reminiscent of ancient Chinese art because of the connection made with nature. "Chinese society, basically agricultural, has always laid great stress on understanding the pattern of nature and living in accordance with it" (Silbergeld & Sullivan). The memorial reminds...
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...Maya Lin- Video Review What was the artist work about? Maya Lin is an architect and designer. Her work is very natural and simplistic, her designs are very simple but the content of her pieces of work are very deep. She is recognized for her landscape art. She expresses her work through objects she makes. This objects or architectural works she has done are all made so people all feel connected in the same way. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington Dc, are two black granite walls which are together linked and have engraved text in chronological order with the names of the men and women who gave up their live for this war. You see that she expresses the amount of sadness and depression in a simple black marble wall that represents much more than that; the color black represents the amount of pain people passed through this years of war and the names written in chronological order make the viewer see all the people that died and see that the person was marked in making the United States a peaceful country. The ideal she wants to express in her work is to make a place for individuals within the landscape that can connect to her artwork. The landscape art Lin makes are sculptures, parks, monuments, and architectural projects in every work of art she express the aspects of nature. In every piece of art is has done she reflects the great amount of interest she has with nature. Lin incorporates aspects of mature in her works because she feels that viewers have to think about...
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...Maya Lin- Video Review What was the artist work about? Maya Lin is an architect and designer. Her work is very natural and simplistic, her designs are very simple but the content of her pieces of work are very deep. She is recognized for her landscape art. She expresses her work through objects she makes. This objects or architectural works she has done are all made so people all feel connected in the same way. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington Dc, are two black granite walls which are together linked and have engraved text in chronological order with the names of the men and women who gave up their live for this war. You see that she expresses the amount of sadness and depression in a simple black marble wall that represents much more than that; the color black represents the amount of pain people passed through this years of war and the names written in chronological order make the viewer see all the people that died and see that the person was marked in making the United States a peaceful country. The ideal she wants to express in her work is to make a place for individuals within the landscape that can connect to her artwork. The landscape art Lin makes are sculptures, parks, monuments, and architectural projects in every work of art she express the aspects of nature. In every piece of art is has done she reflects the great amount of interest she has with nature. Lin incorporates aspects of mature in her works because she feels that viewers have to think about...
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...Anthony Chatman 8/5/2014 The Vietnam Memorial The purpose of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is to honor members of the United States Armed Forces who fought and died during the Vietnam War. The memorial consists of a 250-foot long series of polished black walls sunk into the ground. On the walls are inscribed 58,000 names of servicemen who were declared Killed in Action or Missing in Action during the Vietnam War. The names are listed in chronological order beginning at the top of the wall and visitors who come to view the names are able to see their own reflection in the black walls. The end points of the wall point to the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. A few feet away from the entrance to the wall is statue of three soldiers in clothes that would be exactly as they would have been during the Vietnam War. They are called “The Three Soldiers.” The wall evokes diverse individual reflections on the Vietnam War because of its design. The wall is among the most famous monuments to American history on the Washington Mall, its difference from other forms of memorial reflect the controversy surrounding the Vietnam War. The Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial, are both designed with pillars and white granite, and is are seen. The Vietnam Memorial however, is not visible until you are almost on top of it. If you approach it from behind it almost disappears into the land. The memorial represents the stigma brought upon veterans returning home from the war. The wall...
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...Facing It Vietnam War veteran, Yusef Komunyakka describes a direct experience into his emotions when he went a visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in the poem Facing It. In the poem Facing It, Komunyakka caught my attention because of the title, and how Komunyakka explains the meaning of his title, by the types of speech he has in his poem, and how he describes the wall. Komunyakka’s figurative launuage in this poem drives home the speaker’s feelings and memories that he is encountering at the war memorial, Yusef starts the poem off with an example of visual imagery. He states, “black face fades.” This tells us that Yusef is African American, and it also tells us the key word fades, meaning that he wasn’t the only person affected by the...
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...What I overall admire with Maya Lin’s design is that she made it about the veterans, she wanted it to be about the people and not the politics. The memorial would be about honesty, for people to be able to accept the pain and death, to admit and overcome it. Her design was fairly simple, but for a memorial that her essay described much more then simplicity, it would win the contest. Her design was underground, and on the black surfaces that represented the black surface of the earth (the earth polished) would be carved all the names in chronological order of those Veterans. With Maya Lin’s original idea, she received offensive and hateful comments and criticism. Due to Lin being not only a young woman but an Asian woman some people felt that...
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...Over 58,000 Americans have died in the Vietnam War. We may have won the battle, but it was only the beginning. Many survivors have been traumatized for what they have seen, done, and experienced. Ron Kovic happens to be a well-known Vietnam Veteran, who is paralyzed from chest down. He wrote a book called Born on the Fourth of July to show his point of view on what truly happens during the Vietnam War. Kovic tells us that people do not know what war really is until they experienced it. After he returns back home from the war, he thought he would be treated as a hero but people saw him completely different, as if they were disappointed in him. His concerns with today’s generation are that there will possibly be another war like Vietnam but with Afghanistan and to warn the young adults who are joining the military what they are exactly signing up for. After Kovic was release from the military, he wished that he could have heard a person who got injured from War to tell him what really happens, and that is his goal today. Ron Kovic became a protester today because, how he was treated in the hospital,...
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...Annotated Bibliography Topic: War Related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Sub Topics: Chronic PTSD in Vietnam Veterans PTSD in Iraq War Veterans SOURCE 1: What is PTSD? Retrieved on 13 Nov. 2011 http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/pages/what-is-ptsd.asp UNDERSTANDING PTSD Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can occur after you have been through a traumatic event. A traumatic event is something horrible and scary that you see or that happens to you. During this type of event, you think that your life or others' lives are in danger. You may feel afraid or feel that you have no control over what is happening. Anyone who has gone through a life-threatening event can develop PTSD. These events can include: * Combat or military exposure * Child sexual or physical abuse * Terrorist attacks * Sexual or physical assault * Serious accidents, such as a car wreck. * Natural disasters, such as a fire, tornado, hurricane, flood, or earthquake. After the event, you may feel scared, confused, or angry. If these feelings don't go away or they get worse, you may have PTSD. These symptoms may disrupt your life, making it hard to continue with your daily activities. How does PTSD develop? All people with PTSD have lived through a traumatic event that caused them to fear for their lives, see horrible things, and feel helpless. Strong emotions caused by the event create changes in the brain that may result in PTSD...
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...ENGINEER, POST-IRAQ Transition can mean the big picture of how a warrior has to try to adjust back into society, but the short term is very critical, from when a warrior leaves the battlefield to when they hit the streets at home. If there’s one thing I learned from my experiences, it was that there was no transition at all. –VIETNAM VETERAN Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has become the major medical issue with our soldiers returning from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. For many soldiers, it is a badge of honor to have served but for most, it is a start to an endless battle of finding the courage to continue to serve or be labeled an unfit soldier for the military and useless to their family. PTSD affects not only the soldier’s way of life but the core of who the soldier is. For this reason, the government should take special care informing society what is PTSD, who gets PTSD and what types of treatments are available to them. Government must ensure there are programs in place to assist soldiers and family members in dealing with PTSD issues. The Department of Defense and Veterans Administration to encourage service members and veterans to seek help early, before problems...
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...Homelessness is defined as a lack of a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and is associated with poor health and subsequent morbidity (Gordon, Haas, Luther, Hilton, & Goldstein, 2010). Veterans make up about 11% of the adult population; they make up 26% of the homeless population (Weidman, Executive Director, & Vietnam Veterans of America, n.d). An estimated 47% of homeless veterans served during the Vietnam era, more than 67% served the nation for at least three years, and 33% were stationed in a war zone (Boone, Executive Director, & National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, n.d). Biases and Stereotypes Individuals label the homeless with stereotypes and personal biases due to lack of knowledge. These same stereotypes label the men and women who have served our country in WWII, Korea, the Cold War, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Some individuals believe that all homeless are lazy and do not want to work; they would rather sit alongside a road and beg for money, so they can buy their alcohol or drugs. Homeless are thought of as individuals who have made poor choices in their lives. Many veterans who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are thought of as crazy and not able to function in society any more. Individuals may think that veterans have it made with benefits provided for themselves and their families including better health care than most of the working population in America. Demographics Numerous reasons can contribute...
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