Personal Narrative: My First Vietnam War

When I first got put in the challenge program I was very scared. I only knew a handful of people and I didn’t know if it was the best fit for me. However, the past 4 years have proven me wrong. I would have been bored and in challenge when you have teachers like Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Hill, you wonder why you questioned yourself.

After war hit, virtually everything was deteriorated. In a four-mile radius from where I stand, not a single architecture except for the government buildings and makeshift shops are still structurally sound. Families are forced to survive, father's craft shelters for their families out of the detritus that remains. Children, including ages of even six years, sleep deprived due to labor, desperately attempt to rest on empty, dented, bed frames. The only people that have real, formal shelters are the aristocrats that pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to hire a room in a government shelter and the government families.

It was 5 am in the morning and I was flying over the Persian Gulf, I was exhausted from the 18 hour flight from Virginia. All I wanted to do was sleep, but the vast amount of emotions I had swirling around in my body kept me in a trance state. Scared because this was my first time in the Middle East and excited to finally see something new, it was a bittersweet moment for me. Finally we landed, Excited to feel my legs again, I rushed towards the front of the plane, only to feel like someone was holding a perpetual blow dryer and LED light to my face. And at that moment, I knew I had arrived in Qatar --- what has the military gotten me into?

I wandered across the street, the gravel crunched under my feet. I hear my dad yell my name “Amira.” I run toward my house. My dad tells me to lock the door as soon as I am in. Click, goes the lock. But, something’s not right, my dad is still outside. I look through the peephole in my door. I see 5 men in camo uniform with guns charging at my dad. They stop one meter away from him. The soliders raise thier guns. Aim. Fire. Bang, Crash. I can’t see anything except bright red blood. I scream. I hear the soldier’s feet crumble on gravel and the sound becomes more and more faint. I open my door and there in front of my eyes, my dad covered in thick blood. I roll up into a ball and start shaking. My throat starts closing up. Suddenly I hear a soft,

I was mounted upon the forty ton steel beast, M4 Sherman. It trampled and stomped on all of its puny enemies that had opposed it. Up ahead there was a German outpost. My heart flustered in anticipation. Ba-Dum, Ba-Dum, Ba-Dum. Caressing the large crimson button, I was ready to devour. The weapon of mass destruction finished aligning with its marked target; the button like a mole went down then quickly went up. Soaring through the sky like superman, the high explosive shell devastated the side of the building. Swivelling the turret towards the exposed infantry garrisoned there, ready to unleash a storm. However there were two deafening bangs. BOOM! BANG! We were oblivious to the other tanks in our platoons as they wanted to break their boredom. Anyone could have smelt our victory from miles away. This wasn’t a battle, this was a massacre. I could feel medals already in my hands.

I miss my dad. He was so valiant to defend our country in the Vietnam war. Unfortunately, he was the only one who kept me company, since my mom was always working. Recently, a family moved in down the street. We decided to pay them a friendly visit. My mom, being the sweet woman she was, had time to make cookies and bring them to our new neighbors. The lady who answered the door was named Mrs.Kwon. She had escaped with her daughter from the violence and terror in Vietnam. Mrs.Kwon invited us in. I noticed a girl about my age, with coffee colored hair, and a lilting voice.

I first got into the war when I was in my 20’s. I started training and knew this was what I wanted to do. I wanted to help my country and make it a safer place. I had worked hard and got my spot in the army. Lots of people have asked if I have killed someone before. I just say no because I don't like to get into detail. But, the truth I have killed a lot of people.

I wish that there was a cure for the war, and I wish that time could freeze and no more innocent people could be suffering or put in anymore graveyards.

Living by myself, I was the ruler for our city. We had strong protection behind us, may walls and a huge army to fight off invaders. No one ever feared for their safety. There were no criminals and no thieves. Everyone got along with one another. Neighboring towns never competed with us or tried to hurt anyone, up until now. I was fast asleep when I heard the ground start to rumble. I looked out my window in disbelief. I thought I was still dreaming. Huge tanks lined up by the dozens outside our mighty walls, and people started to pour out by the hundreds. For the first time in my life I felt unsafe. My army wasn’t ready, and my people were frantic as could be. I sat still hopeless, trying to think of any possible solution. The fleet of intruders started to pour in. There was no other way we could survive. We had to abandon our city. We were now in the middle of a war, whether we liked it or

I was traumatized after what has happened. The sky that was once blue was now gray. Most of the human race has been wiped out and the only survivors are hiding underground. Not much food is left and there is only a couple more months before we all die. A man they call Joey “the Destroyer” is out to eradicate humans because of what they have done. His whole family has been killed by Nazi and he has lived a lonely, sad life. The humans have been getting smarter and smarter and found a way to time travel. Joey saw this opportunity to get revenge and thought of a plan to somehow steal it. Joey has seen how to work the Time machine and all he has to do is get in it and no one can stop him at that point. The time machine is guarded 24/7 by the FBI.

I went outside the palace doors and saw the faces of the wonderful and loyal subjects. Everything is going so fine and great. I have a luxurious life, my allies are great, I have the strongest army, and my subjects are loyal. While walking towards the garden I looked over to see a strange military man calling my name. “Emperor Aang!!! Said the military man. It was Colston the lead general of all the armies. ‘’What happened”? I saw the frightened look on his face and knew that something was out of place. “The cities that want our treasures have attacked us from all sides, including the north, east, and west. You have to tell us what to do now, and the plan to stop them!’’ My heart dropped and out of everything this was the last thing that I thought would actually happen. I sat down to catch a

This kind of situation becomes clear to me when the war start in 2003 in my country and how everything was destroyed and the bomb was everywhere in that time , and we used to stay in the home with our extended family to stay safe and how was everything scary and complicated to stay a life. After the war ended a little bit and we back to school I remember I was happy because I will see my friends and i will play again with them , I went to the school and we start our first class in the school then I saw my teacher face was shocked and we are hearing scream over the school , I don’t know what's going on in that time but I was scary because all the teachers were scared and many people were screaming then I knew that there is a huge number of

"M...mo...m," I tried to yell for my mother, but I began to vigorously cough as tears streamed down my muddy face. I knew I wouldn't stop fighting to find someone. But, I needed to get somewhere the ruffians couldn't spot me, just until things died down, since helicopters were everywhere. I realized I needed to figure out the schedules of when they searched, but now isn't the time to worry about that.

It was a rainy morning in mid-October. My mortar platoon was tasked to do a week’s worth of dismounted patrols tasked with clearing compounds of interest of IED factories, weapons caches, and drug stockpiles (mainly marijuana). The patrol from the previous day ended with an hour’s worth of small arms and several IEDs, therefore, I knew that today would most likely be the same. At around 0600 we mounted in our MRAPs and Strykers and, additionally, joined by Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD), Sappers, and Afghan National Army (ANA) commandos. After a 15 minute drive, my patrol dismounted towards our first in our series of 5. This area was in between Zangabad and Masumghar. We made use of a few dirt trails that winded in between grape fields

Starting at a young age, I was forced to face many problems. I was encouraged to work hard and not to give up on things easily. My first year in elementary school in Vietnam was scary and entertaining at the same time because I was able to explore different things. Surprisingly, I was elected the class president in first grade and continued the job over five years. Although there was a lot of pressure weighing on my shoulders, I still tried my best to help the class ranking go up for all five years. Even though the job was tough and tiring, I enjoyed doing it because I believe everyone should be a leader and direct others and not always be a follower. When I made mistakes, many people criticized me, those same people would not compliment me