In the late 1960s and early 1970s, it was no secret that being sent to fight in Vietnam carried a high chance of being killed or injured. Receiving a draft card was often a young man’s biggest nightmare. For some, the most appealing choice was to register as a Conscientious Objector, as seen in the case of Thom Nickels. Others fled to Canada, expecting to never be able to return to the United States. Tim O’Brien, author of The Things They Carried, tried this tactic only to find that he couldn’t convince himself to follow through with it. One more choice was to go to jail for two years for refusal to go to war when drafted. Of course, young men could simply accept their fate and go to war. Reasoning for willingly going to war varied from person to person, but usually fell along the lines of “owing it to” the country, or fear of embarrassment if they left the country. War, assuming one survives, could be an invaluable experience, as demonstrated by novels and stories from surviving soldiers in wars since the beginning of time. Tim O’Brien displays that times of extreme stress and uncertainty create unbreakable bonds in The Things They Carried. Upon receiving a draft card, I believe that I would have found the first available boat to Canada, and not …show more content…
Strong feelings of patriotism could lead some young men to lay their lives on the line for their country, even if the war was looked down upon by the public. Fear of embarrassment was enough to convince some, while others realized that they had no other real choice. This was O’Brien’s case, because he came to the realization that, for him, “Canada had become a pitiful fantasy. Silly and hopeless”(O’Brien 55). Aside from personal reasons, the facts were still laid out in front of each young man. The United States Army needed more young men to fight with, and the young men would be paid for doing that