Open Blog #3

On Friday, Mr. McDonald talked about his experiences in Vietnam. I knew he was a Vietnam veteran, but I never asked him about the war and what his experiences were. I believe that the best way to learn about the war and the conditions of the war is to learn it from a veteran and not a book. McDonald talked about how he joined the war, so he could have more of a choice on what he was going to do. I am reading The Things They Carried, and I was interested to hear what he carried that was sediment to him. He talked about how mail was super important and that was what he carried with him. I cannot even imagine how much mail was to each soldier because that was basically the only connect to home. He also brought up an interesting point about safety. He said that nobody ever felt safe or even relaxed in a way. Even if you were in a very protected area or during a holiday, you still were never truly safe. Another interesting point was how he was treated when he came back home. I found out that people were brutal to him. I do not understand why they would do that because most soldiers did not have a choice to go to war or not. Every soldier should get a lot of respect because they are risking their lives to protect the people at home.