2. APO 96225

"Today I killed a man. Yesterday, I helped drop napalm on women and children." lines 14-15

This poem by Larry Rottmann possesses situational irony. A young man writes to his mother while he is away serving in the Vietnam war. Anticipating his mothers reaction to the truth, the young man writes generic letters describing unrelated topics. However, the mother pleaded, wanting to know the truth. This is what is ironic. Once the young man conveys the truth to his mother, he received a letter from his father saying, "Please don't write such depressing letters. You're upsetting your mother." Even though the mother wanted to know the truth, once she found out, it was too much for her to bare. She wished she wouldn't have discovered the true horror going on where her son was. I think this irony expresses the feelings of most Americans. They wanted to know every detail that was going on in the war, but when endless deaths and killings were reported daily, the pain and sorrow was uneasy to take in. In result, the Americans turned their heads to the hardships and despair in Vietnam and pretended not to know the truth.