A True War Story

I found “How To Tell A True War Story” to be raw and gritty. Poignant at some points but detached in others. I really have a penchant for Tim O’Brien’s writing style. This piece is written in a conversational manner. It was as if O’Brien was with me in my room telling me his story. Although the event in which Lemon gets killed happened several years ago, O’Brien retells the memory with vivid detail. I really liked how O’Brien illustrates the sunlight that surrounded Lemon and described his death in a poetic way. “When he died it was almost beautiful, the way the sunlight came around him and lifted him up and sucked him high into a tree full of moss and vines and white blossoms,” O’Brien elaborates. I also really liked how the story led up to Lemon’s death. How everyone was just having a good time until Lemon’s untimely death, it brings an essence of genuineness to his story.

Nonetheless, did it really happen? As O’Brien continues to mention, it’s difficult to separate what actually happened from what could have taken place. However, O’Brien justifies his story by stating that of course the memory is hazy because he witnessed a person die. He described the moment the booby trap exploded as a moment of cluttered visions. He also states that, often times, true war stories do not have a point until it hits you many years later. Twenty years later, this particular memory of Lemon taking the persistent half-step replays over and over like a broken record in O’Brien’s mind. He explains how he can still see the sunlight on Lemon’s face. Although Lemon and O’Brien were never really close companions, Lemon was the best friend of Rat Kiley and Kiley is a good friend of O’Brien; thereby, Lemon’s death affected O’Brien. Additionally, these men worked together as comrades, therefore, formed a relationship that is almost similar to brotherhood.

Overall, I found this piece to be melancholic. As O’Brien eloquently states, a true war story is never really about war. This story is beautiful and haunting. From him telling and retelling the event in which Lemon died, the more remorse I felt for O’Brien as well as Rat Kiley. I can envision Lemon stepping into the booby trap and the sunlight surrounding him like a halo.