‘Dear America’

Character Profile Chart

Letter writer:  George Olsen

Military Rank:  Ranger with Company G, 75^th infantry, operator in the area around Chu Lai

KIA/Survivor: Killed in action on the 3^rd of March 1970. He was 23 years old.

Experiences:  First hunter kill operation North of Chi Lai. Two teams of twelve men set up around a trail and a lone VC walked in the middle of them. They tried to make him a POW but the VC panicked and ran. George had him in sights and threw three slugs at him. ‘No Hollywood theatrics – one minute he’s a living human being, the next second he’s down, just a red lump of clay.’

A grenade fire almost burned down his post which left George without a tent. ‘So now I’m sitting here cold, wet, and unbelievably dirty after eight days.’ His team couldn’t get relieved because of the monsoon weather and stuck at his post until it blows over with low food supply and with almost no water.

Feelings and points of view:  Volunteered to fight in Vietnam - ‘I’m where I want to be, quite voluntary doing what I think is right and am far from being homesick.’

Relationships: Wrote letters to Rosemary Dresch, a college friend who he calls Red.

Makes the reader think, feel, understand, learn, and consider: ‘The frighting thing about it all is that it is so very easy to kill in war. There’s no remorse, no theatrical ‘washing of the hands” to get rid of nonexistent blood, not even any regrets.’

By Zoe

‘Dear America’
Character profile chart

Letter writer: George Olsen
Military Rank: Ranger with company G, 75th infantry, operating in the area around Chu Lai
KIA/survivor: KIA on 3rd March 1970 aged 23.

EXPERIENCES: went on missions in the jungle during the monsoon season and was caught in a tropical storm; his team could not be relieved until the storm had passed over and they were cut off from resupply, left low on food and almost out of water. ‘I’m sitting here cold, wet, and unbelievably dirty after eight days up here, fairly miserable – yet strangely content’.

First hunter-killer operation with two teams of 12 men stationed two miles inland and slightly north of Chu Lai about an hour off the choppers. During their mission they tried for a POW, but he panicked and took off in a rain of gun fire. ‘I had him in my sights, threw three slugs at him and he just disappeared. No Hollywood theatrics – one minute he’s a living, running human being, the next second he’s down, just a red lump of clay’.

FEELINGS AND POINT OF VIEW: George volunteered to go to war; it’s where he wanted to be. ‘I’m where I want to be; quite voluntarily doing what I think is right and am far from being homesick’.

RELATIONSHIPS: writes all his letters to Rosemary Dresch, who he calls Red. She is a college friend of his.

MAKES THE READER THINK, FEEL, UNDERSTAND, LEARN, CONSIDER: George says some things in his letters that make you wonder about what was like to fight over in Vietnam every day, killing people and having blood on your hands. He gives you sense of what it is like to kill someone in war. ‘The frightening thing about it all is it’s so very easy to kill in war. There is no remorse, no theatrical “washing of the hands” to get rid of nonexistent blood, not even any regrets’.

By Kim

‘Dear America’

Character Profile Chart

Letter Writer:          Rodney R. Chastant
Military Rank:       Captain of Marine Air Group 13, 1^st Marine Air Wing.
KIA/Survivor:          Killed on the 22^nd of October 1968, at 25 years old.

EXPERIENCES:     

o     Rod was one of  the 50 men that got promoted to date as a Captain in the United States Marine Corps that 1640 men had tried out for

o     With his promotion, his annual income in $9000.00 a year, and $11,000.00 worth of securities

o     In the Philippines he took a bus ride along the infamous route of the death march in Bataan, where he passed graveyards that were marked with row after row of plain white crosses

o     Rods degree of proficiency is now undisputed as the best in 1^st Marine Division

FEELINGS AND POINTS OF VIEW: 

o         Rodney was proud to be an American, proud to be a Marine, and proud to be fighting in Asia

o         He finds it amazing how little things such as receiving letters can mean so much.

o         He loves his family more than anyone or anything in the world

o         Rod  sometimes gets lonely

o         There is a job to be done which requires a man of conscience

o         His experience is invaluable

o         He feels as though he is needed there because of his degree of proficiency

o         If he thought he was needed at home more than Vietnam, then he would come home

o         He feels so alien and alone when trying to adjust to the loss of another friend

o         He dreams of the day when he returns home to his mum and dad

o         Rod chooses Vietnam

RELATIONSHIPS:   Single, close relationship with his mum and his dad, spends quite some time his brother, David,

MAKES THE READER THINK, FEEL, UNDERSTAND, LEARN, CONSIDER:  The letters that Rod wrote to his family show how passionate he was about his job, and that he was so proud to be where he was. But they also showed how much he missed his family and how much he wanted to come home again. It makes you feel sad because he was KIA so they never  saw him again, but they would’ve been very proud of their son knowing that he was doing what he wanted to do because he loved it, and that he wanted to fight for his country.

By Lacey

Character profile chart

Letter writer: Rodney Chastant.  Age 24/25

Military rank:  Captain

KIA/Survivor: he was killed on the 22^nd of October 1968

Experiences:

He was a volunteer but after his tour of duty he decided to extend his term of service.

He was also promoted to captain of the United States Marine Corps.

He was k.I.A for serving America and did them proud.

Feelings and points of view:

He was proud to be in Vietnam doing his duty for his country. He was willing to make the sacrifices necessary to make the world safe. 

Relationships:

Most of the letters he wrote was to mother and father and his brother (David)

He was close to his comrades that he looked after during the war.

Makes the reader think, feel, understand, learn, and consider:

He was patriotic and a strong belief in America’s war against Viet Cong which makes you feel proud that he was fighting for our belief 

By Taylor

Character Profile Chart

‘Dear America’

Letter writer: Frederick Downs
Military rank: Platoon leader, Company D, 1st Battalion 14th infantry, 4th infantry division, August 1967- January 1968, WIA 11 January 1968
KIA/Survivor: Survivor.

EXPERIENCES:
• WIA on 11th of January, 1968. Fred lost his left arm and got shot in the bum.
• After his experiences in War, Fred thought the hospital was amazing and relaxing.

FEELINGS AND POINTS OF VIEW:
“last night in was comforting everyone, but there was no one there to comfort me”
• After bring WIA, he talks about how many other soldiers became depressed because of their Injuries during the war. Fred believes that he is not depressed and his state of mind will not change from the war.

RELATIONSHIPS:
Fred was married to Linda and had 2 girls, ( Tammy and Teri )
Fred and his wife have since been divorced.

MAKES THE READER THINK, FEEL, UNDERSTAND, LEARN, CONSIDER:
Makes the reader think about how tough the war was, on both sides of the family, the soldier in the war and the family that they belonged to.
Makes the reader feel sorry for both Fred and his wife and his 2 daughters.
I understand how hard it would of been for Fred to be away from his wife and children that he worried that he wouldn’t ever see them ever again.
War was never easy for anyone who was involved in it, or who had a loved one involved in the war.

By Jordan

‘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

‘Dear America.’ Profile Chart

Letter writer: Rob Riggan

Military Rank: Doctor, 1^st medical battalion

Kia/Survivor: Rob is a survivor, he now is a writer living in Rowe, Massachusetts

Experiences: In one of Robs letters to Merle he writes ‘Being in the medical battalion, I find myself curiously suspended from “sides” or causes and can only feel the human loss and terror which can never be measured in pretty medals or sweet, patriotic speeches.’ Being a doctor in the war Rob was confronted by this feeling every single day. In his letter to his family he tells them about a 16 year old girl who was brought in, she was walking along with her mother when she was struck by an American vehicle. ‘The girl fortunately died, but the grief of the mother was the like of which I had not witnessed here...’

Feelings and point of view:

-‘The longer I am here, the more my hatred of war grows, but curiously enough I’m more a pacifist then I ever was, though I know I have stronger leanings in that direction than most.’

-Rob felt he was never in a war. ‘Donny can go back home and tell what it is that he has done and seen, but never why. And I can go back feeling that I’ve both seen a war, and not been in one...’

-‘Here, now, in the context of Vietnam, I am torn, but I wonder in what depth being “home” will heal my new self-doubts.’

Their relationships: Rob wrote his letters to his parents and to Merle. This was somewhat of an escape for Rob as it was a way for him to concentrate and think about other things such as life back home, rather than the war that was going on around him.

Makes the reader think, feel, understand, learn, consider: Robs letters give the reader a way to view the war and a sense of feeling towards the war just how Rob did. He is a great writer which makes it easy to read and gives you an understanding on how he felt about the war in which he was a part of.

by Laura