If I Die In A Combat Zone

5 Pages 1339 Words

I have chosen a book called “If I Die In A Combat Zone” written by Tim O’Brien for my book review. This book is about Tim O’Brien’s experience as a foot solider in the Vietnam War. He spent a year in combat in My Lai, Vietnam. Since this is a fictional book the names of the characters have been changed.
Chapter one describes a day in the life of Tim O’Brien. He is talking to a man named Barney when Captain Johansen gave the order to move on and check one more ville for that day. They came across Vietnamese that they nicknamed Charlie. After this place was secured as good as it could be they bedded down and tried to sleep. They slept in holes in the ground called foxholes.The next day they ate C rations and got ready to move on.
Chapter two tells about Tim O’Brien growing up. It tells about his parents and about the town that he grew up in. He talks about the things he did in school and how he was trying to decide if God was real or not. He graduated high school and went away to college.
Chapter three tells how Tim O’Brien was drafted into the war in 1968. He had a hard time trying to decide if he would go or he would run away to Canada. He did not want to die. He finally made up his mind to go to war even though he thought the war was wrong.
Chapter four tells how the soldiers spent their nights looking out over rice paddies. They had a scope that allowed them to see in the dark. They kind of played games with it and let their imaginations run away.
Chapter five tells how Tim O’Brien made a friend named Erik and how they got through the first months of army life together at Fort Lewis. He did not like this training. It tells of the things that he kept his mind on just to get through it. Erik liked poetry. All the soldiers at Fort Lewis were homesick for their families. Their drill sergeant was a man named Blyton. Everyone thought he was evil. When basic training was done Erik got to go to ...