Imagine that at 18, you enlisted (like John) or you were drafted into the Army and were sent overseas to fight in a war. It was a long, bloody, drawn-out war, and you saw many comrades, friends, and enemy soldiers die - some right in front of or next to you. Living conditions were poor, and the threat of death, capture, or injury was foremost in your mind the entire time you were fighting. You, like John, didn't fight for democracy. Didn't fight for freedom. You fought to survive. You fought to keep your buddies alive.
Now, it is a few years later, the U.S. has been victorious, and you - 21 years old now - are sent back home, a hero to your friends and family.
Prompt:
Describe what it feels like to be home. Are you the same person you were when you enlisted at 18? How have you changed? How have the people around you changed? Are you glad to be back home? What do you think about your family and friends calling you a hero?
IT would feel good to return after 3 years of fighting.after fighting in the war i would have matured and understood how precious life really is. if when i got back i was praised as i hero i would feel good about it, i had to endure a long and bloody war which sought the end to many of my comrades.
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ReplyDeleteIt would feel great to be home and finally be in a place that i could actually say i am safe in. I would be a little more mature an also I would take advantage of my freedom more. Also i would be grateful for what i had since i had seen so many important people die in front of me. My family would change and realize that i had enough heart and courage to fight and live through the whole war. They would see me as a new man and appreciate me a lot more. I would be excited to be back and i would try to catch up on all the things i missed about my family while i was gone. I would not like my friends and family calling me a hero because all the people who died did the same thing and they never got called a hero.
ReplyDeleteIf I were just coming home after being in the war for three years, I would definitely be a changed/different person. I would still love my family and friends the same, but after being through the war, and experiencing death right before my eyes, I would be scarred. I had to fight for my life, not to save my country. So I don't think I'd appreciate being called a hero. People who died... well, they died. They never had the glory of being called a hero like I would. And for what would I be a hero for? Living? In my eyes, it wouldn't seem right. I'd grieve every time the war was mentioned, so I'd never speak about it. The people around me would change too. They won't be concerned in the war, or trying to make a living anymore, because they've invested in it and made money. I don't think anything would really ever be the "same" again. My sister would be gone. My father would be gone. Although my mother wouldn't have to work in a factory anymore, home wouldn't really be home anymore.
ReplyDeleteIt feels like a relief to be back home and not have to fight to survive or save my buddies' lives. I'm not the same person because I have grown up and matured over the years. The people have changed quite a lot since I have been gone. Many people went back to getting money and spending it and not even worrying about the way anymore. I haven't seen my family, so when i arrive at home they seem very loving to me. I don't really enjoy being called a hero because for me fighting for my life didn't seem like i was doing it for other people but it felt like more of a job for me.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to come home after being in war for two years I would be extremely overwhelmed with emotion. I would be glad to go home but so traumatized from what I have seen. My life would never be the same. I would come back home changed and grown up. After seeing death and war you have to grow up. I probably wouldn’t like being called a hero because I wouldn’t feel like a hero. I would have shot young men my age; I wasn’t a hero.
ReplyDeleteit would feel good to be home and be safe where i don't have to fight for my life. i would say i have changed b/c i have seen people die right infront of my eyes i have matured i understand alot more. my home is no longer my home with half my family gone i will never have my home back.the war has ruined our lives torn families apart. i hate the war for this and this is why ill try not to talk about the war it would hurt me everytime i had to. when my friends and family call me a hero i would be happy that they can say that and i wasn't drafted i enlisted on my own, i would feel sad for all those who couldn't come home and be called a hero as i am as for them, they are much more heroic then i am. they died for there country and while they are dead and without there loved ones i am alive with my family and friends.maybe i would hate the war and never speak of it i would be scarred for the rest of my life is that why they are calling me a hero b/c i fought for my country and now live in fear. and will always live in fear till the day i too will die. i lost my best freind, i will never see him again he is a hero i am not. i feel as if i should not be here to be called a hero i should be dead just like my friends. i should have sacrificed my life for my friends and maybe they woulkd be here and be called a hero or maybe we would both be gone and never have to think of war ever again.
ReplyDeleteIt would be a relief to be back home from the war and I am now a new person. I am no longer the boy I used to be at 18 years old. I have witnessed people die right in front of my very eyes and that is something that will never go away. I have a whole new view at life and I think things will no longer be the same. The people around me all call me a hero but I am far from that. I killed young men just like me for something our country disaggreed on. Also I was never fighting for my country I fought for my own survival so I should not be called a hero.
ReplyDeleteTo be home would feel wrong or abnormal. I would feel out of place but also i would feel better or safer. No i would have grown up and become more mature. My family would be different, my friends would be gone or would be like myself feel wierd being home. It would probably be a mutal feeling, because i felt so normal being at war or in protection mode and being home and not hvaing to worry as much would be strange. I wouldn't feel like to much of a hero because their were lots of men who were heros and died.
ReplyDeleteIt would fell very wierd to be home. I would feel out of place. I wouldn't know what to do everyday or what to say to everyone i used to know. No i wouldn't be the same person I was at 18 because going somewere like to war is life changing. I feel like i would be more mature after coming back home from three years or more at war. If my family and friends called me a hero i would feel proud of myself but also at the same time a little sad because of all the other men who were reall heros and died at war.
ReplyDeleteTo be back home would be a relief to know that I'm safe. I'm home with my family, friends, and the people who matter the most to me. I no longer have to worry if I'm gonna die the next morning I wake up. But I would also feel out of place at home because I would not know what to do with myself. I was just away for such a long period of time being busy with the war and now I'm home.. I wouldn't know what to do. I would have to catch up on so much stuff with my family. I think I would be more mature and could be a good role model after being through so much with the war and such. I think the war would teach me so much in how to be brave and that there are gonna be times in my life where I have to count on myself. (:
ReplyDeleteIt would feel different to be home. everything i knew and loved has changed, the people, my family , even where i grew up is now just a memory to me. i would be used to the horrible images of war and have no reaction towards death around me. i would have changed and become more aware and grateful for what i have. my family calls me a hero, some of me is proud but another part of me would feel ashamed. i helped our country but i killed innocent men in the process. i would still feel safe and happy to be home again.
ReplyDeleteIf i were to come home after 4 years of war, i would be really relieved. I would be lucky i'm alive, and i'd be happy i helped the country and overcame my fear of being drafted into the war. I wouldn't really know what to expect when i came home, i know my parents would be all over me and want to hear all of my stories, but i'm not sure i would want to share them the stories. The stories would be really deep, and would bring back the fear of going into the war. It may also remind me of the friends i met downt there who died or were injured. I couldve gotten injured or maybe i could've helped one of my friends in the situation. But then again, i would be happy i made it home and that i'm alive, and i would feel a lot more safe and happy. I would feel like a hero, because i survived, i was in the war.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to come home after being in war for two years I would be extremely overwhelmed with emotion. I would be glad to go home but so traumatized from what I have seen. My life would never be the same. I would come back home changed and grown up. After seeing death and war you have to grow up. I probably wouldn’t like being called a hero because I wouldn’t feel like a hero. I would have shot young men my age; I wasn’t a hero.
ReplyDeleteIt would be a relief to be back home from the war and I am now a new person. I am no longer the boy I used to be at 18 years old. I have witnessed people die right in front of my very eyes and that is something that will never go away. I have a whole new view at life and I think things will no longer be the same. The people around me all call me a hero but I am far from that. I killed young men just like me for something our country disaggreed on. Also I was never fighting for my country I fought for my own survival so I should not be called a hero.
ReplyDeletei guess i would be releived that i didn't have to fight anymore but i would feel extremely guilty becouse i was still alive while many of my friends and other soldiers had died and couldnt feel the releife i was feeling. And i would always remember what i saw during the war and that feeling of gulit would never go away.
ReplyDeleteTo me if i came back home i wouldnt be the same. It would be hard to find a job b/c i would have been so used to living on the move. Also it would be weird see so many innocent people cheering for you but not knowing what you saw and did with your bare hands
ReplyDeleteI would fell very happy that i have survived the hard combat and finally returned home. I dont think that i would feel like the same person i was when i first enlisted. It has been 3 years and things have changed from leaving home to returning home. I have become a man and I have grown up. I am a hero and not the boy that used to be before i left home. The people around me have also changed. Like me they have matured and became mans. We all entered adulthood together. I am very happy to be back home. I think that my parents and friends would think of me as heros. I went off to fight at war and helped their nation survive. I am a hero and will always be a hero.
ReplyDeleteI would feel extremely glad to be able to go home because I would be able to see my family for the first time in a while. I would also feel relieved that I would no longer have to fight for my life on the battlefield. I would probably not be the same person I was when I enlisted becasue seeing all those dead soldiers would made me look differntly at life and how lucky I am to be alive. I would also not be the same because in the 3 years that I have been away I am older and no longer a teen but a grown man. The people around me would probably have changed too because they are older now too and their lives are different like Diane's with her baby and the mom with her back injury. I would be glad to be back home where I could feel safe again and I would be able to be with my family and all my friends and especially Ginny. I would feel honored but also guily. I would feel honored knowing that these people think that I am a hero for protecting our country. I would feel guilty because I am taking credit for all of those boys and men that died in the war and I was not fighting for our freedom or democracy, I was fighting to stay alive.
ReplyDeleteI am very glad to be home. It is good to see my family and friends and to eat good food. I like the fact that they are calling me a hero. After all I went through all that pain and suffering I should get something out of it. I am alot more grown up now and can take care of myself. My family and friends have not changed too much except for them being happier that I am home. Home is a great place to be.
ReplyDeleteI would feel out of place coming back home to where you don;t need to always watch your back or worry about going into battle. i would feel like i wouldnt belong. but also i would feel a relif knowing that i made it through the long and tough battles. i would have matured a lot over the past couple of years, i would not consider myself a hero. i fought alongside my brothers of this country. i fought because i had to not because i wanted to . i fought for those who couldnt. i knew what i did was right but in the meantime i did what had to be done.
ReplyDeleteI would be so glad to be home again. Although i might have changed a little bit, because of seeing people killed right infront of me, i would mostly be the same person i was back whan i enlisted. When i come back frome the war i probably would have more of an understanding about what happens in the heat of battle and what happens to the soldiers. My friends and family will most likely be the same as they were when i left although i think the people who are closest to me would be affected greatly by my abstens. I would be called a hero by most of my friends but i would not considder my self as one. I would have killed people who were fighting for what they believe is right just as i was. They only faught to survive and protect there friends and so was i. So in my eyes i was not a hero i was just a soldier like all the others no different.
ReplyDeleteI would feel great about being home. I would become a stronger person and cherish every second i have on Earth. The people around me would be a little older and probably think of me differently after I survived the war. I would be very happy to be back home and see my family. I would feel honored that my family called me hero but I would not label myself a hero I just fought to stay alive
ReplyDeleteComing back home after years of war, I would definitely not be the same person. I saw so many gruesome things in war that my thoughts would change and I would analyze everything and be very cautious. Also everything I had remembered as my home and all of the people from home would be different and I would feel very lost and out of place. I would feel relieved to be back home but it would take a lot of time to adjust. I would not call myself a hero because I fought to help save my friends' lives and I felt like it was my duty to help save them.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to just come back home from the war, I would think I would be a changed person. Being able to come back home would be wonderful because i would now be able to look foward to something instead of worrying about being killed or captured and i would be able to spend time with the ones i love. I would love to be known as a survivor or hero in this war because I would think i needed the support and to be able to know that people knew I was a hero and make me feel like i was. I would think i would have changed by being more mature from training and meeting new people and knowing their lifestyles and from being so used to being around these men i was with for these few years.
ReplyDeleteif I was in the war for so many years I would be glad to be back home where my objective isnt to kill or evade death. THis expierence would change me alot I would now appretieate life more since many have died next to me while I was lucky enought to escape deaths grip. I would say the people around me would treat me differntly or would hope since I nearly died for their freedom. I would also greatly enjoy the idea of be called hero because of my service.
ReplyDeleteI would be incredibly happy to be back home. But at the same time i would have wanted to die with my brothers on the battlefield. For me it would be like loosing a teammate in football. When i got home i would try to be the same person, but i dont think i would be able to do that. I also think that the people around me may change and act nicer for a while to see if i am ok. And i wouldnt think anything of being a hero. I did what i was going to be forced to do.
ReplyDeleteWhen i came home from the war after 3 years, i would be a totally different person. I would feel grown up. It feels amazing to be home after so much fighting and stress. I would feel relieved to be home in my safe house. The people around me would defiantly make war jokes, and try to enlighten the mood, but i wouldn't find them funny because they haven't seen real war. If they called me a hero, i actually wouldn't like it. The after effect of killing people would tear me apart inside. I would feel like a killer, not a hero.
ReplyDeleteIf i came home after fighting in the war i would be glad ot be home but at the same time i think i would feel a little awkward. i have seen bodies shot and killed right infront of me and no man or women would ever be the same after seeing that. I would defiently not be the same person as i was when i left. I changed because of all the things that i have seen. The people around me wouldnt't change much, they would only became more sensetive to how i felt about being home agian. If my friends and my family started calling me a hero i think i would be thankful that they appericate me and that i faught for our country.
ReplyDeleteIt would feel good to be finally home yet It would probably be strange. I would be disturbed, and mature. People proabably would have grown uo looked different. I would be glad to be out of that mess. I wouldnt feel like a hero unless evryone came home ok.
ReplyDeleteIf i had been fighting in a war for that long and finnaly came home, it would be a really strange feeling. I wouldnt know what to do with myself because i would be so used to running on a schedule. But, at the same time i would be happy to be home. I would finnaly get to see my family, something that i would miss very much while fighting in war, and see less of people dying right before my eyes. If my friends and family called me a hero, i would feel very proud of myself for helping out in fighting for my country.
ReplyDeleteWhen I returned after fighting I think I would be a different person then when I left at 18. I think this because I would have seen so much death and dying that I would have a different perspective on life. I would be glad to be home and also to be out of the terrible conditions I had to deal with in the war. I think I would be proud about my family and friends calling me a hero but I would also feel bad because I had to kill other boys my age in order for them to call me that.
ReplyDeleteit feels really good to be home and i have changed as a person since i have enlisted i have become more independent and mature i dont laugh at jokes and have become a hard person im very glad to be home and i dont think i should be called a hero because i did the same thing everyone lese in the war did cower in a hole and shoot
ReplyDeleteBeing home it is so different. I have so much food. All I wanted was some actual food. I’m not running around any more and I don’t have a chance of getting killed while I’m at home. I can be as lazy as I want and I won’t get in trouble. Now I am more mature though. I don’t classify myself as a hero but some others might. Though I fought in the war that doesn’t make me a hero. There are millions more thought helped in the war too. Also the others back home that help take on war jobs such as my mom when she quit her job as a photographer to take on a role at a factory.
ReplyDeleteI feel safe at home but it is definately different. People calling me a hero would be i guess acceprtable considering i sacraficed my life so they can be safe. My mind might be different considering the things ive seen and the horror i went through
ReplyDeleteIt would feel great to come home a hero and I would be very proud of defending our country. I would be relieved to be in a place where I could finally feel safe and secure. I have changed and grown up into a greater, more mature man. The people around me are galvonized when they see me come home and are extremly jovial to finally see me again, and they are amazed that I am still alive. I am very glad to be back home to spend time with my family. I try to stay modest as my friends and family call me a hero, but I am very proud inside.
ReplyDeletei would be so happy to be home and feel good and acplished about my friends and family calling me a hero. i would probably be much more mature after the war experiance and my friends and family will be very proud of me.
ReplyDeleteI am not the same person i was when i was 18. I have seen alot more at war and changed. My life has changes because the pressure of thinking you could die at any point i way less of a risk. People around you have changed, who woulden't.
ReplyDeleteI am glad too be home where i can live my life and not worry. I would like to be called a hero because i wentr through alot for that. However i would be humble about it.
I would feel very excited and proud that Im home. I would be a different person because I have witnessed my closest friends and just soldiers die and get killed off right in front of me
ReplyDeleteI would be very relieved that I was back hom eand still alive. I would not me the same person as when I was 18. I would have seen horrible things during the war, and it would have changed my perspective on life a lot. a lot of people around me would have changed. I would be very excited to be home. The face that my family and friends were calling me a hero would mean a lot, but there were probably other people that made bigger differences in the war than me.
ReplyDeleteI would be happy to be back home but i would be devastated due to the war. life would not be the same. i would be so tense and nervous. i dont think it would be right for my friends and family calling me a hero because every one that served was really a hero
ReplyDeleteI would be happy that I coming back home. I would be different because I have seen death of friends and other soldiers fighting beside me. The people back home would change because there older and are making a life. Also with people calling my hero i wouldn't like it because i was the only one fighting in the war.
ReplyDeleteNaturally, I would be ecstatic to be returning home after 3 grueling years of war with poor living conditions and death. However, I would begin to look at things in a different light. I would be thankful for things like food and shelter I had taken for granted before I left. My family and friends definitely would have changed, but I think I would eventually be able to adapt. I don't mind them calling me a hero, but I would rather not be reminded of the war. My heart will forever be scarred from the terrorizing experiences at war.
ReplyDeleteif i came back from war and was put back into a regular civilian life i would still be terrorized by the sights of war. i would be paranoid walking down the street and still have the thought of all the dead men i saw back on the battle field. if people called me a hero i would feel like i didn't deserve to be called one because i would try to forget the things i did to survive.
ReplyDeleteIf i came back i think i would be very happy to just be home and not worry about anything. I would like to just be home and not be on gaurd constantly. Also i would be glad that i could see my family. But most of all i would be glad i just survived the war.
ReplyDeleteBeing home would be much of a change. quiet and peacful unlike the war and it would not feel the same as it did 3 years ago. I would have changed alot. Part of me would be gone from the war. I would probably be a lot less quieter if i had seen all my friends die before me. I dont think the people around me would have changed much but maybe have been more relieved now that i was home. Im definately glad to be back home though and away from all the death. On the other hand, i do not like my friends and family calling me a hero because if they had seen what I done to survive they would not still think the same.
ReplyDeleteIf i came home i would love to go back to the quiet life and i would also be scared and schanged because of the war because i have seen things happen and i will see life in a whole new perspective..... iI will be glad to be back home but mad at everything that i lost in it.
ReplyDeleteWhen I am home it feels so strange because I can have whatever I need whenever I want like food and water. Also, I will be walking around cautiously because I think I’m still fighting in the war. I am not the same person I was when I enlisted because I have seen so much. I am much more mature about things and I don't have too much laughter in my life because I am constantly thinking about my friends who have died. The people around me have grown up a lot and they all look and act older. I am definitely glad to be back home because I know there are many soldiers and civilians who aren't. I will never forget those images in my mind of the deaths that I have seen right in front of me. When people congratulate me and call me a hero, I feel terrible because I know deep down that I am not one. I am sorry for all the people I have killed just to save my life. I shot my gun only because I was scared; not for any heroic act. The real heroes are the people who have sacrificed their lives for all of us to be alive right now. So, I will always think of them as the hero when people call me one.
ReplyDeleteI would feel happy that I lived through the war, but also feel out of place because they don't know what war is like. I would not really care if people calle me a hero. I'm not the same boy before I enlisted because I have stared at death. It does, however, to be back home where I feel more safe.
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