nside the African-American soldier that moves along a parallel line of the physical war. It prompts one to beg the question why they are fighting the war to begin with.The Viet Cong took full advantage of the African-American soldiers wavering attitudes regarding their involvement."Hanoi Hannah" is a poem which illustrates this fact. The language used by Hannah is intended to evoke feelings of confusion amongst the soldiers psyche,"Soul Brothers,what you dying for?You know your dead men,don't you? You're dead". They should not be fighting against people of color struggling to free themselves from oppression. "The 'Brothers' respond with a volley of small arms automatic weapons fire in the direction of the elusive voice, precipitating a surrealistic display rendered in words.."8 Hannah simply laughs at the GIs attempts to get rid of her,"Her laughter floats upas though the airways areburied under ourfeet." Her reminders of women at home who will stray as well as the struggles of the soldiers will remain with them.Her voice rises from the earth encompassing their being. The effectiveness of Hannah follows the soldiers even after their time "in country". All images from Vietnam come home.The poem "Losses"focuses on how soldiers cope when returning home.There is an uneasiness regarding one trusting oneself,"'After Nam he lost himself,not trusting his handswith loved ones." He has been trained to kill and all around him reminds him of Nam. How can he protect his family from himself? he must alienate them,"His girlfriend lefthe's halfway back,closer to a ravine,going deeper into saw vines,"Again Komunyakaa lays out the image on the table allowing the reader to make their own decisions. This is in contrast to other authors according to Gordon Taylor,"McCarthy's own interest as a writer at the outset is to document further an existing case against the war, the prosecution of which case indeed concerns her throughout all three books."9 ...
