‘Dear America’ Profile Chart

Letter Writer: Rodney Chastant

Military Rank: Captain of Marine Air Group 13, 1^st Marine Air Wing.

KIA/Survivor: Killed on 22 October 1968, he was 25 years old.

EXPERIENCES:

Rod was one of 50 out of 1,640 men promoted as a Captain in the United States Marine Corps.

He took a bus ride along the infamous route of the death march in Bataan; he passes thousands of American graves marked with row after row after row of plain white crosses.

FEELINGS AND POINTS OF VIEW:

-Likes the excitement and challenges he finds in Vietnam

-Proud to be an American, proud to be a Marine, proud to be fighting in Asia

-Feels as if he needed there because of his degree of proficiency

-He had two options, fight in Vietnam of shut up. Rod chose Vietnam

-Sometimes Rod feels lonely

-Likes receiving ‘trivial’ letters from his family, it helps keep him civilised and take his mind off things

-Feels alien and alone when trying to adjust to another loss of a friend

RELATIONSHIPS:

 Single, Good relationship with his Mum and Dad.

MAKES THE READER THINK, FEEL, UNDERSTAND, LEARN, AND CONSIDER:

The letters to Rods family shows that they were very close and that they wanted him home as soon as possible. Knowing that Rod was killed before he could see him family again would make his family very upset. Rod hurt his mother by being over there but he tries to explain that he is needed there more, so she tries to put rods wishes before her own. I think rods family would be proud of him as a Marine.

By Amy