Yusef Komunyakaa, the author of “Facing It,” is a Vietnam Veteran who appears to write as a means to express his grief, pain, and postwar experiences. Being a Veteran myself and having been to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. several times, I empathize with Komunyakaa. The first thing I noticed upon walking down the path to the monument was how quiet and peaceful it was, yet the sorrow and pain was deeply rooted. I located the names of family, friends, and the MIA Marine’s name “CAPT RICHARD R. KANE” on my MIA/POW bracelet. This experience sent chills throughout my body and was emotionally overwhelming. Komunyakaa’s experience in “Facing It,” however, will show how life after war continues to affect a soldier as we examine the theme, imagery and symbols to look deeper into the soul of a man, through his eyes, which bore witness to mind and life altering events. …show more content…
As a Combat Medic in the Army, I worked with soldiers before, during and after conflict, and it’s not uncommon for soldiers returning from war to suffer ill effects from their experiences. Throughout military training, we’re taught to work as a team, a close, tight knit team, and this training is vital to a soldiers’ survival in the field. Soldiers have a tendency to become very close to others in the platoon, so close, in fact, that they may suffer a lost life as if it was a sibling or their own child. Consequently, bearing witness to this type of tragic death of a comrade and not being able to do anything often creates feelings of regret, hopelessness, shame, guilt among many others. The memories of Komunyakaa plague him, even so many years after the war has been over. As a dog cowers to a raised hand, a soldier may react in a similar manner to the sound of fireworks or a car door