Response to "The Things They Carried - The Gravity of War

I really enjoyed this story. I've been meaning to read the book for a while, and I'm glad I've finally been forced to at least read an excerpt. I noticed a couple of complaints about the specificity of his descriptions, how not everyone knows what all of these things are. I think that's intentional. Not only does war come with the overwhelming weight of all these things, but also war requires very specific knowledge and tools, tools that everyday people wouldn't or shouldn't know about. An average person at home may not know what a claymore mine is, or how it functions, and they don't need to, but a soldier damn well better. It comes with the territory, and although the average reader may not know what these items are, they should at least understand the inherent lethality and moral "weight" of carrying such an item. I really liked the way weight is used as a theme. Everything from the literal physical weight of things, to the weight of situational and moral strain, to the crushing weight of love. The connection between the weight of armament and the moral weight they added was a nice touch. It adds a significance to the fact that weapons typically make up a large portion of a soldiers gear.
The love story was interesting. The cold, mysterious virgin poet and the pining, day dreaming lieutenant. As a member of the armed forces, I can relate to his day dreaming on the job. On deployment I would sometimes catch myself zoning off thinking about my girlfriend at the time.