William Tim O'Brien was born on October 1, 1946, in Austin, Minnesota. His father sold insurance and his mother was a teacher. Both of O'Brien's parents served in the military during World War II. O'Brien and his family lived in Austin, Minnesota, for ten years, then moved to Worthington, Minnesota, where O'Brien spent the rest of his childhood and adolescence. He enrolled in 1964 at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota.
In 1968, just two weeks after graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Macalester and while preparing to enter Harvard graduate school, O'Brien received his draft notice. Although he was opposed to the war, he found himself in August 1968 assigned to an infantry unit in the army on his way to Vietnam.
O'Brien's Vietnam experience was life changing. Upon his return to the United States, he.....
This is a free excerpt of 135 words. This section contains 521 words. This
study guide contains 13,265 words (approx. 44 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Literature Guide with our How to Tell a True War Story Access Pass.
