Entry #9 Larry Heinemann & Jean Gump

I chose to read about Larry Heinemann because I really liked the Vietnam War unit in class and I felt like his story would expand my knowledge of the war. Heinemann is a Vietnam Veteran that is still shook up from the war. He describes both his memories during the war and after the war. In class, we didn’t focus much on the post-war for soldiers so it gave me a new perspective on things. In describing his experiences after the war, Heinemann said, “When I got back here, I was scared and grateful and ashamed that I had lived, ‘cause I started getting letters: So-and-so got hit, So-and so burned to death. My good friend flipped a truck over an embankment and it hit him in the head. I had been given my life back, I felt a tremendous energy. At the same time, I felt like shit” (Terkel 417). Heinemann showed his true emotions towards the war. He was glad that he was returning home. However, at the same time, it was bittersweet because he kept getting letters from people saying that a close friend had died. Heinemann showed that whether he was in Vietnam or in America, the war still impacted him greatly.

I chose to read about Jean Gump because I thought it would be a good contrast with a Vietnam Veteran. Jean Gump appears to be a normal grandmother. In reality, she had a very interesting past. Raised by a family of Christians, Gump first believed her role in life should be to follow the rules of her religion. This soon changed when she started to protest war by disarming missiles that would be used to kill innocent civilians. Gump later got arrested for her protests. In response to this, Gump said, “You know, I have never been so hopeful. If I can change my way of thinking, anybody can. I don’t want to be singled out as anybody special, because I’m not. We have to have a future for our children and we’ve got to make some sacrifices for it, okay” (Terkel 427). Gump encouraged the readers to change their way of thinking to save the future.  Gump expressed her belief in fighting for what you believe in, which means a lot from a religious woman.