Brody 1
Natalie Brody
Teacher’s Name Here
Class Here
02 December 2014
If a person is wearing a military uniform they have chosen to sacrifice their selves for the benefit of others; in my perspective, that defines a hero. In the poem “The News from Iraq,” by
Sara Holbrook, she creatively illustrates the horrors of war, as our United States military service men and women, “heroes” in uniform, take on open fire from hostile enemies as they watch, in plain sight, the death of their brothers and sisters. Similarly, as illustrated by metaphor and written by Tim O’Brien in his speech “Heroes,” often the heroes of war are those individuals that are the support systems for the front line, fighting force, as was the gentle, old man that allowed the young O’Brien to find himself that day on the Rainy River, before reporting to the Vietnam
War. War is war, and it certainly is not civil, despite one’s role; however, all involved, being on the front line of the field of battle or the front line at home, can support the men and women, who sacrifice themselves in an effort to protect the American way of life, liberty, and our pursuit of happiness. Whether heroes are made or born, in times of crisis true heroes emerge.
In the poem “The News from Iraq,” by Sara Holbrook, she vividly creates a scenario of the horrors and hells of war. As Holbrook writes, “The helicopter burst into flames immediately upon impact…I knew the two pilots of the aircraft,” she demonstrates the atrocities of war and the traumatic ways in which soldiers watch their “brothers and sisters” die before their times.
Using such imagery, as painting the picture of military death scenes in combat, the author allows the reader to experience the turmoil of war from the comfort of safety. As often young military men and women are fighting the nation’s battles, their basic personal needs are sacrificed, such

Brody 2 as “bedding…sheets,” which the author creatively highlights with her use of personal e-mails between soldiers and their families, yet again, an atrocity. War is horror; war is hell. Sadly,
“negative notifications” did not change the fates of many war heroes, as they took their last breaths on the battlefield.
The speech given by Tim O’Brien “Heroes” addresses the internal conflicts of being a solider in a war in which one does not believe. In his speech he states, “There was a war on which I despised and thought was immoral. Certain blood, I thought, was being shed for uncertain reasons.” None-the-less, O’Brien was drafted to fight in the jungles of Vietnam, and for the first time in American history, soldiers returning from this war were not regarded as
“heroes.” As evident of the evolution of the English language, the word “hero” represents many differing ideals; whether one regards himself or herself as a “hero,” he or she could be that to another individual. O’Brien does not view himself a hero, as evident in his speech when he says,
“He was a hero. I wasn’t. I went to Viet Nam.” Despite coming back alive from a war that claimed the many lives of the nation’s young, O’Brien is adamant he is not a hero. However, for those lost lives, he has made them come alive on the pages of text he has written; he is a hero, if for nothing else, keeping their memories alive.
In both the poem by Holbrook and the speech by O’Brien, the authors have chosen unique mediums to express similar convictions: the horrors, the hells, and the atrocities of war.
Holbrook, by using sentence fragments and poetic qualities infused with non-fictional reports of war, creates a literary scene of mass chaos, as military men and women fight to save themselves and others on the foreign, Iraqi soil. In contrast, O’Brien reflects of days past using metaphors to establish the enduring impact war as left, disfiguring his soul, as his catharsis of writing has shaped his professional career, creating the Hemingway of the Vietnam War. As most of today’s

Brody 3 youth have never experienced life without the United States being involved in wars abroad, struggles and results of such wars of old continue to shape the worn-torn countries of today, paving a path of hostilities for America’s youth.