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Short Essay: Understanding Veterans Of War

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Understanding Veterans of War
Imagine being a young man that doesn’t have too many options in life. Turning to the military is something that many people would do in this situation. This was the case for Ted Wilson, a veteran who fought in the Korean War. By looking at Ted’s military history, one can learn about the mental and physical struggles involving war. When trying to understand veterans, it is important to remember why they joined the military, the struggles they went through at boot camp, and why they might view the military as a positive thing for people to experience.
When put into a desperate situation a person might join the Military as a way to leave behind their problems. Ted Wilson is an example of this. When he was asked why …show more content…

Boot camp can cause fear in many new recruits because of the physical and mental strain that comes with it. When asked to join the Marines Corps Ted replied by saying, “No. I went through 14 weeks of boot camp once, and I’m not going to anymore boot camp, and furthermore, I’m not starting out as a recruit...I don’t care how good the Marine Corps is.” (Wilson). When asked to join the Marine Corps, a specialized part of the armed forces, Ted denied to join because he already experienced to struggles of boot camp once. He especially declined because joining the Marines require even more strenuous physical and mental training. Ted denied the offer knowing full well that the training would only make him stronger and give him more experience. This is a fear that many people who join a new boot camp face. When asking about boot camp, one of the responses that reporter Kat Zeman got was,“Each time, they make it harder and harder. But if they're not pushing us, that's not doing us any good. Boot camp is meant to wear you out. It's supposed to be hard work." (Zeman). This response proves to people that boot camp requires a great amount of determination that many people will be afraid of showing. It also shows people the reason why many soldiers are not too happy about joining boot camp. With this information one can begin to piece together the struggles a veteran went through at boot

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