Vietnam Memorial Interview/ "The Things They Carried" --Vanderbilt

Ryan Powers 4/08/2003 Dazed & Confused in Vietnam Thomas Allen Marshall was apathetic when he was drafted to serve the United States army in Vietnam. This apathy did not last long once he actually set foot in the jungle. Like so many young men, Tom crossed the Atlantic not knowing what to expect, and found something that he never could have imagined. Streaming jungles. Napalm. Underground tunnels. Agent Orange. Guerrilla warfare. A conflict that started in …

…lives. Activity at the wall is like an imagined community. Veterans of Vietnam, family members of those lost, and people interested in it all come together at this point with their connection being Vietnam. Before the memorial, the only places that these people could easily find each other to talk was at smoky VFWs. Now they can meet in front of the stunning Vietnam Memorial. This is another step in the progressive narrative of Vietnam.