Lady Borton Essay, Research Paper

Lady Borton has experienced many difficult occurrences throughout her life. She has seen more terror and horror than anyone else has probably perceived. I can not imagine going through all the things that she has had to go through. Lady Borton served as a nurse during the Vietnam War. She also has been back to Vietnam to help the victims still affected by the war. Lady Borton has dedicated her life to helping the less fortunate.

Lady Borton was born into a very loving family. She had caring parents and a very supporting family. This had a great effect on how she viewed the world. She is not self-centered or self-absorbed. I think this is very evident by the way she writes her stories. She writes about how the war affected the Vietnamese, and not just the Americans. So often we are only subjected to the American view of the story and forget about all the innocent victims of Vietnam. As I mentioned earlier, many innocent kids are being born with severe birth effect. Lady Borton writes, One infant had four arms, another a bowl in place of her cranium, a third a face on his abdomen, a forth his naval protruding from his forehead. (Borton 1103) These are just some of the effects of the harmful pesticides the Americans used on the Vietnamese. Lady Borton does not just take the American view and view it as being the right view. She still visits Vietnam and serves a nurse when she does.

Lady Borton has a very unique way of writing. She gives names and describes each of her characters. She wants the readers to realize that the people in her stories are real and not just some made up persons. Her writings allow the reader to interact with the story and become a part of it. Most authors that write about a negative event rarely use names and descriptions because they do not want you to get to know the whole story. The Vietnam War was such a negative effect on the United States, but Lady Borton lets the readers get to know the entire story.

In Wars Past and Wars Present, Borton writes about a disease that still effects many veterans still today. This disease is called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She writes about her life is compared to a movie projector. She constantly has flashbacks where she is back working as a Red Cross nurse back in Vietnam. She talks about how when a drop of water touched her hand, Suddenly I was back pushing a cart of protein supplements through refugee camp. (Borton 1104) This is just one of the few things that gives her flashback of the war. Many veterans have trouble identifying what is reality and what is just a movie projection. These veterans have been exposed to many gruesome events and have saw some of their best friends be killed right in front of their face. Image having to be constantly reminded of these horrible events over and over again. It is a hard thing for us to imagine. Us younger generations has had it pretty easy. We do not worry about getting drafted or going to a foreign country to fight a war that is not even wanted by the U.S.A citizens. These veterans had it rough back then and still have it rough today. Lady Borton writes about the effects the Vietnam War has caused in her life. It is a constant reminder to her and she constantly has flashbacks.

There are many things that have affected Vietnam soldiers mentally and physically. One of the largest causes of physical health problems among Vietnam Veterans was due to a chemical called Agent Orange. Agent Orange was a herbicide that was used during the Vietnam War. This herbicide was made primarily of a dioxin called Tetrachlorodibenzo. The short-term effect of Agent Orange was such a great deal of help for the soldiers of the war in Vietnam that it was known as every soldier s friend. It cleared the dense floors of the jungles exposing the enemy and snipers that laid along riverbanks waiting for soldiers to walk into their traps were driven out (Scott 29). It also destroyed the food supply for the Vietnamese. In 1977 veterans first started making claims that Agent Orange was the cause of their illness or disability. Agent Orange has caused many health problems for the veterans and their families, including Spina Bifida, Soft Tissue Sarcoma, Hodgkin s Disease, Prostate Cancer, Porphyria Cutanea Tarda (PCT), Respiratory Cancer, and Chloracne to name a few. The chemical that once helped the soldiers now came back to haunt them. Many soldiers have to worry about if these diseases are going to affect them or their family. This is just another thing that causes veterans to have stress.

I have a first hand account of how Post Traumatic Stress Disorder affects people. My Great Uncle Mike served in the Vietnam War. Last Christmas, I went to his house to visit. I am not sure how we got started on the subject, but he showed me his Purple Heart and other medals. I asked him if he would tell me some stories about the war. He started to, but then he started to cry and got all choked up. I have never seen my uncle cry before. He told me that he was sorry because he could not go on because it brought to many bad memories back. This opened my eyes to the effects that the Vietnam War has caused.

I have learned many interesting facts about lady Borton and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Lady Borton is a great writer because she takes the whole story and writes it down. The way she writes, truly shows what kind of person she is. She is a very down to earth author. I enjoyed her writings because I got the whole story. She writes about how Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a major disease and who it still affects many veterans.