Natalie Du Bois
11/16/16
A Taste of the War - George and Terry’s Father
Bullets go off, while “zooms” go over heads as bullets fly by. The rainy,
humid, jungle of Vietnam forces sweat fall off scarred faces and drip onto the
ever changing ground from dry to drenched, being soaked with blood. The
bullets fire and dramatically more screams can be heard. Then in a matter
sixty quick seconds, everything goes silent, everything except the hot breath of
one, lonely survivor. The two Vietnam veterans that too went through death
and traumatic tragedies were George and Terry’s Father from the short
stories, “Dear America” and Stop the Sun”, the two share many similarities and
differences concerning Vietnam.
George and Terry’s Father share many similarities about the Vietnam
War. The two most obvious similarities are that both of Veterans served in
Vietnam and had a difficult time sharing the experience with their loved ones.
Both went through roughly the same experiences. In the two short stories, the
men see such horrific things that just don’t leave them the same from when
they were last seen in their homes. Terry’s Father explains how he saw bullets
firing from every corner, heard screams coming from all directions, and saw
dead bodies everywhere. George also saw terrible things but he couldn’t put
them into words, he didn’t want to relive the experience. Both of the men
were not willing to bring that burden onto their families Despite the obvious,
both men survived the war. Terry’s Father was the last man alive after an
attack, he only made it through because he hid under his dead teammate, to
hide from the enemy. Luckily, he ended up surviving without any injury.
Although, both George and Terry’s Father survive, the experiences the two
went through were the opposite of jovial. In Vietnam, George and Terry’s
Father share many similarities.
George and Terry’s Father share many differences concerning Vietnam.
One that is most striking is that Terry’s Father suffers from P.T.S.D., while
George does not. As Terry would put it, “His eyes go away”. In “Stop the Sun”,
it has been several years since the war and Terry’s Father has a wife and
children, while in “Dear America” George is still placed in the war. George is
much younger than Terry’s Father and still lives with his own mother.
Another difference is that George has a stronger, more untroubled, positive
look on the war, where Terry’s Father is more disgusted by the whole idea of
it. He feels “dead inside”. From the P.T.S.D. Terry’s Father experiences, he gets
these flashbacks that make him dispatched from the world and sent away into
his memory. George was unfortunately physically injured. He was shot two
times, once in the shoulder and once in the thigh. So the two were both injured
from the war just one mentally, and one physically. George and Terry’s Father
share many differences from the Vietnam War.
In short, George and Terry’s Father share many similarities and
differences about their experience in Vietnam. But not matter what we should
always respect a veteran who fought for our country. For they went through
the fear of the fight, the blood and gore, the steaming jungle of Vietnam. While
looking at their dead companions they gratefully got out and now we give
them the respect they deserve.
