Ted Lavender didn't have time to reflect on his life when he was shot in the head. Of course, a shot to the head, one that obliterated the cheekbone and broke teeth wouldn't give someone too much time to think about their life as they died. It was a goddamn shot in the head, for crying out loud.
Ted was very grateful for them, not that he would have ever admit that aloud. Though, perhaps, he already did, when everyone was not quite sober, being drunk or doped up, and had become a bit too emotionally vulnerable as they waited for another paranoia-filled night to pass. He didn't quite remember if he had actually told his platoon that he was grateful for them, but if he had been too emotional, well, he had more important things to worry about, such as not dying in this godforsaken war.
He was with his platoon the day he died. They were on a more complicated mission, but one they had done before - search out and destroy a tunnel system, this time in the Than Khe area. This mission required someone to do tunnel duty. Tunnel duty was the worst - too dark and cramped and terrible for the mind, sending the imagination to the darkest of places. Dobbins was always excused from tunnel duty, that lucky bastard. But, Ted supposed that Dobbins wasn't that lucky. Dobbins had to wait with the rest of them and everyone agreed that waiting was the worst.
When they drew numbers, Lee ended up with seventeen, meaning he got tunnel duty. Ted was simply grateful that it wasn't him - his paranoia was going haywire that day and it would have gotten worse if he had gotten tunnel duty. He popped a tranquilizer into his mouth to deal with the pooling dread in his stomach and the never-ending fears living in his head. The tranquilizer eventually kicked in as he went off to pee.
But, before he was shot in the head, Ted was just another scared American boy among thousands in the Vietnam war, full of national pride and a whole bunch of nerves. As any other soldier, he carried whatever seemed appropriate as a means of killing or staying alive - the standard three guns of M-60, M-16 and M-79, grenades, more guns, gun attachments, plastic explosives, a pocket knife, rations. Dog tags were always slung around his neck, a way of identifying him, just in case he got his face blown off. He carried tranquilizers and dope to deal with the nerves. He carried thirty-four rounds (which was nine more rounds than the typical amount) and a starlight scope to deal with the endless paranoia - of being ambushed, of not having enough ammo, of dying the next day, hour, minute - the usual fears that came with war.
Being with his platoon on countless missions eventually assuaged some of the fears. It's always nice knowing you're going into the jaws of death with a couple of people you can trust to save your ass by your side. There was his platoon leader Jimmy Cross who had this painful obsession with a girl named Martha back in the States. The medic, Rat Kiley, who Ted had stolen morphine from at least once and had saved Ted from infection and other health related crap multiple times. The RTO, Mitchell Sanders, who they'd be lost without as he had the radio and who joked enough times that he made everything feel less scary, less real. The machine gunner, Henry Dobbins, was in charge of the biggest gun as the biggest man and Ted could count on him to kill without hesitation. Lee Strunk carried a slingshot as a last resort weapon and so that ammo would never be a problem when it came down to it (Ted wasn't sure if he could call Lee a genius or not for that reasoning). Dave Jensen was just as paranoid as Ted, carrying night-sight vitamins and empty sandbags that could be for extra protection when they stopped for the night. Kiowa was the most religious Native American that Ted had ever met and was scarily good with a hatchet. Norman Bowker was the gentlest guy on the platoon, but carried an actual human thumb as a good luck charm.
Ted was very grateful for them, not that he would have ever admit that aloud. Though, perhaps, he already did, when everyone was not quite sober, being drunk or doped up, and had become a bit too emotionally vulnerable as they waited for another paranoia-filled night to pass. He didn't quite remember if he had actually told his platoon that he was grateful for them, but if he had been too emotional, well, he had more important things to worry about, such as not dying in this godforsaken war.
He was with his platoon the day he died. They were on a more complicated mission, but one they had done before - search out and destroy a tunnel system, this time in the Than Khe area. This mission required someone to do tunnel duty. Tunnel duty was the worst - too dark and cramped and terrible for the mind, sending the imagination to the darkest of places. Dobbins was always excused from tunnel duty, that lucky bastard. But, Ted supposed that Dobbins wasn't that lucky. Dobbins had to wait with the rest of them and everyone agreed that waiting was the worst.
When they drew numbers, Lee ended up with seventeen, meaning he got tunnel duty. Ted was simply grateful that it wasn't him - his paranoia was going haywire that day and it would have gotten worse if he had gotten tunnel duty. He popped a tranquilizer into his mouth to deal with the pooling dread in his stomach and the never-ending fears living in his head. The tranquilizer eventually kicked in as he went off to pee.
On his way back, Ted could hear the whoops and cheeps and laughter from his platoon, a smile appearing on his face. A high, happy moaning sound rang in the jungle, causing laughter to leave Ted's mouth. Lee must've came out of the tunnel. Thank God-
Ted didn't have time to reflect on his life when he was shot in the head. He was dead before he even hit the ground.
I really enjoyed your different perspective of Ted Lavender's death and how it seemed to flow with the narrative of the actual short story. The additions that you added to your point-of-view, such as the detailed descriptions of what each soldier carried, mirrored O'Brien's original work. I also enjoyed the how you incorporated a quick but meticulous description of each character. The piece that I liked the most from your perspective was how you came directly back to the instance where Ted was shot. In the original work, this seemed to happen frequently where O'Brien would revisit past experiences multiple times in the story and add extra details each time to help further our understanding of the scene.
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