Response to How To Tell A True War Story

   This article is written by a soldier, who experienced the Vietnam War, and the words he used sometimes are rude. I think the article is not a complete story and is combined with many separate stories, such as the baby buffalo and six soldiers. In fact, I cannot fully understand this story. I read this article twice and still get a little confused.

  

In the article, the author emphasized that these unbelievable stories were all true and was afraid that the reader would suspect him. However, through our reading, it seemed that the author cannot believe what he saw or heard either. This conflict inside him may be the thing that was given by the war. He acknowledged the truth physically but refused to accept it mentally. Thus, we feel so strange that why the author always says this is true, because he also wanted to convince himself.

  

 Sander’s yo-yo is an important clue because it appears six times in the article and each time will be followed by a story. Yo-yo always reminds the author with some unforgettable memories. For instance, Sander rolled up his yo-yo before Lemon’s death; Sander played his yo-yo before he was going to tell the story of six soldiers, and etc. In some aspect, this yo-yo represents the war in author’s mind. However, the confusing thing is that why author choose yo-yo as a clue? Is that possible for a soldier to take a yo-yo with him in the war and always have time to play it?

  Another thing I want to mention is about the baby buffalo. The article described process and the ending of Rat’s cruel shooting. Many people surrounded Rat and witness his action, but no one stood out to stop him. The reason why the acted like this is that they all get used to tyrannical behavior, because that is war looks like -- a disaster. Soldiers are like this baby buffalo, they are the victims of the war.

  

 In the beginning and at the end, the author mentioned the sister of Lemon. I cannot understand why author wrote her. What’s the meaning of that woman? Is that only shows how rude or change Rat has?