APO 96225

APO 96225
Larry Rottman

In this poem, a young soldier wrote to his family multiple times expressing the amount of rain, encounters with monkeys, and views of sunsets. His mother returned each of his letters demanding he tell them everything. The soldier returned the letter telling his mother and family that he "killed a man...helped drop napalm on women and children"(Rottman). The father returned this letter asking him not to write letters like that because it upset the mother. The events of this poem could represent largely the American people during the war in Vietnam. People in America wanted to know what was happening, but upon discovering the events were appalled the actions. People enjoy living in an ignorant bliss. Yes people knew of the war, but they did not know the toll it took on the individual soldiers. People much rather preferred to assume that war was filled with rainbows and smiles rather than actual fighting. This poem presents the irony present in the families of soldiers. The families desperately want to know the details about the war, but upon learning the details, the families quickly want to shut the thoughts out of their minds. Some things cannot be UN-seen or UN-thought. The families discover that what they really want is not to know about the war, but to know that their loved one is safe from harm.