Purple Heart Response

There is not always a right and a wrong in war, and depending on what one's personal belief is on a topic there may be multiple outcomes. When reading the Purple Heart I feel that Patricia McCormick did a excellent job of putting the reader, out on the battle field and in the shoes of a soldier. Trying to think like a soldier and understand their movements is so complicated, but to the soldiers it is just second nature. While the soldiers are out on the battle field, all their thinking about is surviving, and what their next move is because one wrong move can end in death. It seems trying to stay positive would be nearly impossible, but it seems the small gifts such as movies or letters from loved ones are the most powerful gifts one can give. It is amazing that those small gifts can take a soldier to another world mentally and allow them to go to a mentally stable position that essentially saves their lives. Once Matt Duffy the main character started feeling back to normal after his accident he wrote a letter to his girlfriend stating, "This is a strange place. You think there are rules and there's right and wrong and you think officers are all assholes who only want to make your life miserable. And then you find out that everybody has a different idea of what's right and wrong. And that a lot of people act like they want to know what's going on but they really don't-because then they might have to do something about it. Like I said it's strange" (Purple Heart 132). I feel that McCormick does a great job showing a soldiers decision making process, and then their actions based on their decision. When on the battle field there is little time to make a decision so you either stick with your decision or you die. I personally believe that no soldier wants to harm another person but when it comes down to life or death, it is instinct and one will do whatever it takes to stay alive. I feel that a soldier is defined based on his actions, because anyone can say they would do a heroic action, but when the situation is right in front of you, other influences come into play that often change a soldier's decision. Every soldier is noble for their actions and should be acknowledged for their service. What I do not understand is why our own government does not treat out troops better, and help them once they are done serving in the army or military. I feel that our government should be taking better care of it troops, especially after the soldiers just put their own life at risk, simply to better "America". It is the soldiers who make America the land of the free and the home of the brave, so i believe they deserve more respect and aid from the government who put them in this crazy situation.