Tim O' Brien is not only a veteran of the war but is also the author of the novel If I Die in a Combat Zone. His first hand depictions of the war help create a very clear picture in the mind of the reader as to what it was like during the war. "It was not a bad war until we sent a night patrol into a village called Tri Binh 4."(83) Not all the soldiers in O' Briens' Platoon had the heart of a rock; some were annoyed or just plain bothered by the sight or sound of death. Mad Mark, one of the Platoon leaders, was sent out with five other men in a night patrol when they came across ten VC(Viet Cong Soldiers) all sitting around smoking. Mad Mark and his five men went on to take out the soldiers and pretty much dismantle them down to an ear, "Christ,

Alpha Company was now moved to My Lai, the most dangerous area of the war. As the troops got off the chopper to get to there area there was an ambush by the VC. The troops began marching in thinking of one thing, "coke and rest."(117) With no indication, hell broke loose, O' Brien hit the ground hearing screaming and yells. He laid on the ground and he remembers seeing a sardine can filled with explosives roll by his helmet. All he heard was a click, the reason being was because his fellow soldier took the impact of the explosive. O' Brien again witnessed death. After the ambush the surviving men continued on. A small situation with Mad Mark arose where days and days would pass with boredom. Mad Mark propped him self on a hill, looked through his scope and fired at an innocent Vietnamese farmer shooting him in the leg. "Tell 'em we got one Victor Charlie, male, military-aged. Engaged with small arms while trying to evade."(120) This was the perfect example of what the typical soldier's thought process was like. The man was just a farmer, not a soldier.

The mind of a militant soldier could go in many directions. There is so much emotion in war that sometimes actions that are characterized in everday life as bad or not accepted can sometimes be justified in the mind of a soldier because of what he has gone through or the atmosphere he is around. A soldier will always be a soldier..........

Nearing the end of O' Briens' trek to the war filled Vietnam, Alpha Company yet again comes across an interesting situation

Some common words found in the essay are:
O' Brien, Mad Marks, Alpha Company, Mad Mark, Combat Zone, USA Vietnamese, Victor Charlie, Briens' Platoon, Mark Platoon, o' brien, mad mark, O' Briens', o' briens', vietnamese civilians, night patrol, die combat, die combat zone, combat zone, alpha company,
Approximate Word count = 1028
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)