War Opinion Letter | Teen Ink

War Opinion Letter

April 18, 2011
By PaRaNoRmAl627 GOLD, Mountainside, New Jersey
PaRaNoRmAl627 GOLD, Mountainside, New Jersey
15 articles 0 photos 296 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Do what you want. If it's something you'll regret in the morning, sleep late."


My Dearest Darling Evelyn,

I love you so much. More than you can ever even begin to fathom. The day we said our vows was the happiest day of my life. Second only to the day your letter came telling me about the birth of our beautiful daughter Isabella. Seven pounds, eight ounces. I remember. Aren’t you proud of me for remembering? Please be proud, darling. No one is proud of me here. No one is proud of anyone fighting this pointless, pointless war.

Today I saw my first death. It was Adam. Yes, Adam from down the street. Adam from church. Amelia’s husband, Adam. He’s gone, Evelyn. He’s never coming back. God, he was so full of confidence. He thought he was going to be the last one standing. We all believed him too. Why wouldn’t we? He was always so strong. Even on the worst of days, he could find a reason to smile. I’m gonna miss him so much. How will the rest of the platoon get by without him? Why should I even bother going on, Evelyn? If Adam couldn’t make it through this war, none of us will. It’s over for me, baby. I’d rather die on my own terms than be brutally murdered by an enemy who doesn’t even understand why we’re here.

You see sweetheart, they told us at home that if we went into this war, we would come out heroes. They didn’t tell us that we would watch our friends and neighbors be blown to bits by hateful, wicked weapons of unimaginable force. They didn’t tell us that we wouldn’t be able to go home for our mothers’ funerals. No one said that we would be killing innocent people just because they lived in the same barely-habitable village as someone who might be Vietcong. No one told me that mothers would hand me their children strapped with bombs. Think about the look on a child’s face in that instant before the bomb goes off. Think of the desperation of the civilians. It makes me sick to my stomach. I can’t do it anymore, Evelyn. I’m not fighting for America anymore. I’m fighting for my sanity. Darling I haven’t slept in weeks and weeks. The dreams I have aren’t nightmares. They’re night terrors. I wake up screaming, sometimes sobbing, drenched in sweat that I can’t wash away because there’s no lake to bathe in nearby. All of my terrors are soaked in my skin. Even if I could wash them off, where would they go?

And after all that, no one is proud of us. I got a letter from a friend who went on R&R for a few days. He said he got spit on at the airport. Someone threw food at him and yelled obscenities at him. What kind of country do we live in? What kind of world is this, honey? I’ve killed people. There are people who have died; there are families who are in mourning because of a gun that I fired. I went through that mental torture for my ignorant, selfish country. I hope they’re happy. This is the end for me. Tell Isabella that I love her, and I wish I could’ve gotten to meet her. Don’t tell her about the horrors of war. Don’t let her ever find out. Protect my little princess no matter what.

Most importantly, Evelyn, please don’t ever doubt that you are and always were the love of my life. I don’t want to put you through the mental anguish that I’ve gone through when I get home. There’s a condition called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that would keep me from living a normal life after I got home. You have a brand new baby to take care of. You can’t be responsible for me too. I’ll be there looking down on you every single night. I’ll keep you and Bella out of harm’s way. But by the time you get this letter, it’ll be too late. The gun that my dad gave me on our first hunting trip is sitting right on my left. Remember? I had you send it to me because the ones that they gave us were so unreliable. America is also unreliable. But my dad’s gun was always there when I needed it. I love you darling, and I hope you and Isabella live a very happy and fulfilling life. I can’t wait to watch it from heaven.
All my love,
Michael


The author's comments:
This was a piece for English. The assignment was to convey our opinions about war through a form of creative writing. I chose to write a letter from the point of view of a soldier in the Vietnam War.

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This article has 175 comments.


on May. 8 2011 at 2:43 pm
i didnt know i could inspire so many tearss lol. glad you enjoyed itt :)

on May. 8 2011 at 2:43 pm
:D thankss!

on May. 8 2011 at 2:30 pm
BellaPrincipessa SILVER, Green Bay, Wisconsin
5 articles 0 photos 19 comments

Favorite Quote:
Love isn't always fireworks. Sometimes love just comes softly.
-Love comes softly by Jannette Oke

Great great job!!! so glad i got to read this. You get everything across that you wanted to in a very creative format. i literally cried at the end. well done :)

on May. 7 2011 at 2:09 pm
sooo glad you liked itt! thank youu!

alex198 said...
on May. 7 2011 at 9:28 am
alex198, |, Other
0 articles 0 photos 113 comments
I loved it! It was so sad but so believeble. It was written so beautifully and simply which added to the effect that this piece had on me. Amazing! :)

on May. 5 2011 at 10:56 am
PaRaNoRmAl627 GOLD, Mountainside, New Jersey
15 articles 0 photos 296 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Do what you want. If it's something you'll regret in the morning, sleep late."

thank you so much!!

on May. 5 2011 at 8:28 am
Grace4297 BRONZE, McLean, Virginia
4 articles 0 photos 17 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Heads I win, tails you lose."

I love this piece! It targets the ideas of war's negativities and compares it to the idea of a country as a whole. The names are realistic and the entire dialogue almost gives an old world tone. Very serious and powerful. Great Job!

on May. 3 2011 at 9:55 pm
AgnotTheOdd GOLD, Aptos, California
17 articles 0 photos 315 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The reason for your unreasonable treatment of my reason so enfeebles my reason that I have reason to complain of your reason" ~ Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Well that was certainly cheerful.  I think it highlights pretty much all of the major issues of war very fluidly, meaningfully, and concisely, which seems to be a combination that is difficult to achieve, so for that I congratulate you.  I chose to comment on this one just because Im ridiculously anti-war, and this really speaks to that view point.  Hopefully this will change a jingo or two's mind.  Bravo.

on May. 1 2011 at 10:30 am
PaRaNoRmAl627 GOLD, Mountainside, New Jersey
15 articles 0 photos 296 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Do what you want. If it's something you'll regret in the morning, sleep late."

yaayy thank you soo muchh :D

TeaganOlivia said...
on Apr. 30 2011 at 10:53 pm
TeaganOlivia, Someplace, Michigan
0 articles 0 photos 71 comments

Favorite Quote:
Today is Yesterday's Tomorrow.
Certainty of death, small chance of success... What are we waiting for? :D ♥
Pippin: "Anyways you need people of intelligence on this sort of...mission. Quest. Thing."
Merry: "Well that rules you out Pip," :D ♥
There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other."
---Douglas Everett

Oh my goodness!!! I almost started crying!!! This is so, so good!!!! I'm gonna bawl!!! Amazing, you NEED to be a writer!!!

~Artemis


on Apr. 25 2011 at 9:24 pm
PaRaNoRmAl627 GOLD, Mountainside, New Jersey
15 articles 0 photos 296 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Do what you want. If it's something you'll regret in the morning, sleep late."

yaaayy thank yoouu! <33

Megan.J.B said...
on Apr. 25 2011 at 9:20 pm
Megan.J.B, Sault Ste Marie, Other
0 articles 0 photos 185 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Here's the real truth. There are eight million people in this city. And those teeming masses exist for the sole purpose of lifting the few exceptional people onto their shoulders. You, me? We're exceptional."
- Green Goblin. :)

You were right! This is fantastic. very interesting concept. Well done.

on Apr. 25 2011 at 7:20 pm
PaRaNoRmAl627 GOLD, Mountainside, New Jersey
15 articles 0 photos 296 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Do what you want. If it's something you'll regret in the morning, sleep late."

awww thank you soo muchh! It means a lott :)

SJ_101 said...
on Apr. 25 2011 at 6:39 pm
SJ_101, Somewhere, New York
0 articles 0 photos 169 comments

Plus, it's so sad that Michael knows that he's going to die. He knows that he won't come home and see his Evelyn and Isabella. That's just so sad! :'(

I like how you added, "I can't wait to watch it from heaven."

:)


SJ_101 said...
on Apr. 25 2011 at 6:38 pm
SJ_101, Somewhere, New York
0 articles 0 photos 169 comments

Awwwwh, this is soo sad. I was crying. Gosh, you should be a writer. Reading this, I totally understand what a soldier has to go through. I never knew that a soldier had such a difficult life. D: I'm thankful for all our soldiers.

I don't know why, but I always thought that soldiers were willing to fight for their country. Now that I have read this, I seem to realize that soldiers have ambitions, families, etc.

You deserve an A+++ on this, no joke! :D

Keep writing, you're fantastic.

BTW, I understand how soldiers feel when they shoot someone else.

:)