Another cold winter night´s sorrows cannot bring this war to an end. The soldiers cry out in pain, longing for a warm coat or something satisfying to eat. Dense smoke fills the air, forcing men to crawl along the blood-soaked snow. The outcome of the war is already determined, it seems. Our contracts with the army are coming to an end, and it is coming time for each man to look inside himself and decide if he will be enlisting in the army once again. Though many heavy-hearted soldiers are making the choice to return home to their families as opposed to rejoining the army, I am going to enlist for another nine months. There are many reasons one would want to skip signing another contract, but I am making the choice to stay because I am healthy and able to fight, I am loyal to my government, and I hold a firm belief in our cause. …show more content…
When you look at the populace chart of Valley Forge, you can see that in December 1777, about 3,000 of the 12,000 men were sick, but as of February 1778, almost 4,000 of the 8,000 men succumbed to disease (Document A). Consequently, this means that over the course of two months, not only has the population decreased, Washington went from having 25% of his soldiers being ill to 50% of them. However, despite so many soldiers falling ill, I am well and able to fight. If I were to back out of the military, I would be costing Washington a soldier when he had none to spare. We see this again in Dr. Waldo’s letters back home (Document C). “The army which has been surprisingly healthy hitherto, now begins to grow sickly… I am sick- disconnected- and out of humor… fatigue, nasty clothes… vomit half my time… I can’t endure it” (Waldo, Letters). Waldo is a fellow soldier who became ill. From his description of his illness, he is in no condition to fight, which leaves me with the opportunity to step up and defend my country when others
The conditions in Valley Forge were terrible like ¨ poor food, cold weather, some of them would vomit half their time.” They really need help because soldiers were just getting sicker. Dr waldo suffered during his time at Valley Forge but stayed loyal to the continental army. He was like inspiring when i read how he stayed through all the pain at Valley Forge and he didn't quit.
As I walked through the snow with aching, raw feet, the blood, making a trail behind me, I soon began to realize how Valley Forge and this whole war in it’s entirety was driving me to the point where I wanted to quit. It was the winter of 1777 and the American Army was forced to set up camp 18 miles outside of Philadelphia, we call it Valley Forge. The question that keeps popping up in my mind while I sit miserably in my hut is, am I going to re-enlist? I am not going to re-enlist for 3 reasons: death and illness, harsh conditions, and the lack of support and supplies. One of these causes that make me want to quit is the amount of men we were losing due to the illnesses that spread around camp.
I walk into Valley Forge. Winter 1777-78. As I walk in, an overwhelming feeling of emotions comes over me. Sadness, anger, hope, unwillingness, and happiness. I walk in a little bit further and I am greeted with many huts. These huts have no windows and only one door. I decide to peek into one of them and see 12 men inside. The huts are hard to see in because smoke has filled them. From another direction there is many men talking. I walk towards the noise and am surprised to see men sitting around a campfire eating small amounts of food. The men are talking about various things. Some are talking about their family, how they are excited that their duty is almost over, and some of the strong willed patriots who are willing to fight for their country are talking about how they are going to stay longer than they were sent to. As I keep wandering around the camp I find myself at an area with many men. These men are different than the men at the campfire. These men were the unlucky soldiers who had gotten sick. There is a soldier who is crying over another soldiers still body. Again I hear talking but this time it’s about how they need help caring for the sick and the soldiers that want to leave shouldn’t leave so they can help the sick. I shake off what I just witnessed and made the tough decision of staying. I would stay because they would need my help,
Powell had documented that,” The committee of five congressmen stayed several weeks and was helping in getting more food.” This relates because, the Congressmen didn’t trust George Washington and then ended up helping us throughout the war. ‘The Congressmen didn’t trust him because, “George Washington's position was uncertain and so the Congressmen were unsure if they could trust him (Powell 149). The Summer soldier and the Sunshine patriot will, in the crisis, shrink from the service of their country (Paine 153). Busch had also documented,”from December 1777 to February 1778 over 4,000 soldiers had either left or died.” Tyranny, is like heck or under the ground and is not easily conquered. This is why we need more soldiers so we can fight for freedom. Fighting is extremely hard and you will lose many friends, but you will feel joy, if the right thing has happened. This reason is causing me to re-enlist because I still trust my army to fight with them, I will stay because I want freedom for me and
One reason why I would re-enlist is because I want to set a good example for the younger troops as well as for the people back in the states. Document D stated “Yet they still show a spirit of Alacrity and Contentment not to be expected for so young troops.”. This sentence tells you that even through the hard times at this place, the young soldiers are still happy and are still willing to suffer through all of this and win the freedom that their country deserves; so why can’t we? If we quit now then slowly, the young soldiers will lose the determination they are having now. We are setting examples to all of the troops through everything that we do, so if all of us quit then they will quit as well because there will be no one here for them to look up to. George Washington is such a powerful and great leader so if I quit then I am not being a very good role model for the troops to follow.
Tim O’Brien finds himself staring at his draft notice on June 17, 1968. He was confused and flustered. O’Brien does not know how or why he got selected for the draft. All he knew was that he was above the war itself, “A million things all at once—I was too good for this war. Too smart, too compassionate, to everything. It couldn’t happen” (41). He was also demented on the fact that he, a war hater, was being drafted. He felt if anyone were to be drafted it should be the people who supported the war. “If you support a war, if you think it’s worth the price, that’s fine, but you have to put your own precious fluids on the line” (42). His draft notice was when he first carried his thought of embarrassment. He instantly thought if he does not support the war he should not have to go to war. The only way not to go to war was to flee the country so the draft council could not find him. He had a moral split. “I feared the war, yes, but I also feared exile” (44). This quote is so true in young adults, not only then, but also now. Peer pressure, the thought of being embarrassed if we do not do something, pushes many young adults to do things they do not want to such as pushing Tim O’Brien to enter the draft. The thought of being judged ...
If you were at Valley Forge, would you have abandoned the American Army in times of trouble? If I were a soldier at Valley Forge, I would have left because of all the illnesses that spread from the soldiers, Washington’s words According to Document B, George Washington had presented the Congressional Committee to soldiers at Valley Forge, along with a little speech about how much he wants to win the war What he said was meant to be motivational, but it might have unintentionally scared some soldiers into not wanting to fight anymore. If I was frightened by what Washington said, I would definitely not have stayed in the American Army.
At Valley Forge, December 1777- June 1778. Washington and his Continental army would be staying here for 6 months and it was a very difficult place to live because it was very cold, a lot people are sick, and low on supplies but some are leaving and others are staying. Would you have quit Valley Forge? I would have stayed at Valley Forge because only 15% of people are dying, there is help on the way, and because of the inspirational words of Thomas Paine.
Imagine it’s the year of 1777 in cold Philadelphia at Valley Forge. It smells like fresh log from the huts. You see injured men and people starving for food. People crying from the pain and in the corner of your eye you see General Washington making Revolutionary War attack plans. We are here to fight for our freedom. The enlistment is over and you and the rest of the soldiers at Valley Forge have to decide whether or not you are going to quit. If I were you I would quit because of the lack of supplies, family issues, and illness/death.
The soldier’s time to serve would be up in just ten days, the British continued to win battles, all hope of winning the war was fading and everyone was ready to put down their weapons and surrender to Great Britain. However, George Washington was not settling with anything less than trying their best. He kept that little flicker of hope that was still left, alive. The Continental Congress did not see much hope in the war either and turned the responsibility of the war to General George Washington. Washington received a message from Congress saying,
My initial reason to enter the Air Force was a great way to pay for college which turned into a call of duty and a service commitment which has actively allowed me to contribute to the Air Force mission. Thus far I have led a joint force search and rescue effort and a multinational exercise to preserve freedom. As an F-15E instructor WSO and combat mission ready WSO I actively contribute to ensure our freedoms are preserved and the attacks of September 11, 2001 will never happen again.
Who would have the guts to stay? “ The first two years of the American Revolution had not gone well for the Continental Army.” George Washington was having trouble keeping soldiers, but for only nine months some soldiers will use their bravery to keep on fighting for freedom. Although, the congressmen didn’t trust George Washington, it didn’t stop him from leading his soldiers into battle. The soldiers settled for winter in Valley Forge in Philadelphia in the perfect spot to keep an eye on the British and close to Quakers for food. They were ready to face the winter. After the winter started to come to the end, most of the army survived . “ On April 13, 1778, word reached camp that the French would join the Americans in the war. It was a huge turning point.” A soldier would not have quit Valley Forge because to supporting other soldiers, give motivation, and reassurance that they were getting resources.
Ever since World War II, the last war that garnered full American support, the percentage of American citizens enrolling in the U.S. Army has diminished significantly. The U.S. is a major military power in the present world; American soldiers are engaged in many multi-theater positions, consequently dispersing troops over various regions worldwide. As only one in ten citizens has served in the US Army, American knowledge of military conditions is rapidly lessening along with the national harmony that complements such knowledge. Therefore, the comprehension that American security is closely associated with a formidable military never resonated within the greater part of modern American citizens. Although antiwar activists may decry compulsory conscription as unconstitutional, it needs to be reinstated in order to solidify the meaning of being an American citizen, boost the economy by providing jobs, and unify the American people with enhanced homeland security.
Being a soldier was a really tough life. In the end I hated doing the same thing day after day with no change in sight, I despised the leaders that didn 't take care of their subordinates, and most importantly, I couldn 't lead my soldiers from the front anymore. I 'll be the first one to say that joining the army was the best thing to happen to me. I have grown so much as a person and the lessons I learned are invaluable. In the end I realized the negative factors outweighed any possible benefit I might receive from continued service. It was time for me to
...nd embarrassed with their true desires not to fight. There is no freewill at this point because they feel obligated to be the patriotic men. They are confused not knowing the reason for this war but that it is “to stop the Communists, plain and simple” (O’Brien 45). Unfortunately is it not plain and simple, even a million words would not be able to express the experiences that these young men endure. Unlike the Lone Ranger, the soldiers would rather flee due to the natural human instincts toward a dangerous situation. Yet, they suppress their true feelings and fight with all they have. As we can see, the ones that fight to help people that they hardly know are indeed the regular, normal, and everyday human beings. With this in mind, we cannot count on the Lone Ranger to come to the rescue; rather, the heroes are right before our eyes. They are an “everyman.”