"They carried malaria tablets, love letters, 28-pound mine detectors, dope, illustrated bibles, each other. And, if they made it home alive, they carried unrelenting images of a nightmarish war..." Men in the Vietnam War who served side by side with a man named Tim O'Brien carried all of these things. Now, twenty years later, Tim is writing about the terrible mistake he made of going to Vietnam and the horrific things he saw and did. Tim believes that by writing he is able to work through these things: they give meaning to who he is, by linking him to the past. This is why Tim O'Brien's life is linked to the fictional novel, The Things They Carried.

Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is an innocent and sensible young man who has to lead his men through many ordeals in Vietnam. Jimmy would much rather be in New Jersey with his...