War, It's The Small Things That Matter

In Tim O’Brien’s “How To Tell a True War Story” rather than explaining how the war was won or what strategies they used to win the battles he tells us touching stories involving the soldier’s experiences giving us details about what they did to past the time, how the war has affected their mindset and senses and how some of the soldier’s may react after the death of a close friend.

From playing catch with smoke grenades to pass the time to hearing strange noises in the mountains, and releasing grief on a baby water buffalo it’s the small details like this that made me realize all the emotions and physiological effects of war. It’s not about how the war was won and what strategies were used “It’s about the special way that dawn spreads out on a river when you know you must cross the river and march into the mountains and do the things you are afraid to do. It’s about love and memory. It’s about sorrow. It’s about sisters who never write back and people who never listen.”. No war is won without consequences. I was able to almost picture myself in their present situation and understand, but never truly, their current mindset. When you’re trained to kill fighting in another country for months and death is all around you and waking up everyday knowing that it could be your last with constant paranoia of where the next enemy bomb strike or ambush could be it really does start to mess with your head. It can make you a cold heartless person which may compel someone to unleash their rage in torturing a baby water buffalo after they just saw their best friend’s body turn inside out. When you’re sitting up in the mountains in the middle of a war forced to remain almost completely silent for a solid week it’s going to make you think, hell it might even make you go crazy especially if you’re in the middle of a war.  When you’re in the middle of nowhere given the soldiers situation and location you might just start to hear music, partying and voices like the soldiers did. Being so far away from home and all the joys and pleasures they were once surrounded by are no more and when all you can do is sit there and listen your mind starts to wander.