Tim O'Brien“Intellect collided with emotion. My conscience told me to flee, but an irrational and powerful force resisted, like a weight pushing me towards war. Stupidly, this resulted in a feeling of shame. A hot, stupid shame. I didn't want people to think bad things about me. (Tim O'Brien; On the Rainy River).Tim O'Brien is a 20th century author, he was born October 1, 1946 in Minnesota. After graduating from Worthington College, O'Brien received his draft paper for Vietnam. O'Brien served as an "infantryman" from February 1969 to March 1970. He was given the rank of sergeant and received the Purple Heart after being wounded by a grenade. After serving, O'Brien continued his graduate studies at Harvard University, where he interned at the Washington Post. O'Brien's writing career took off in 1973 when he published If I Die In A Combat Zone, Box Me Up And Ship Me Home, the book was about his wartime experiences. Although it wasn't all rainbows and butterflies, O'Brien experienced depression and personal despair bordering on suicide, without his army friends he felt alone and afraid. He called himself a coward, a deserter of conscience, for not having defied conscription. Fortunately, O'Brien found happiness when his wife Meredith gave birth to their two sons, Timmy and Tad. I'm pretty sure that when the President of the United States and members of the Pentagon decided to send their troops to fight in Vietnam, they didn't think the veteran would write and become a famous writer. (Zins)Tim O'Brien has a unique ability to show the realities of daily life for many veterans. When you listen to him speak, you get a sense of what it means to be a soldier at war, not just lying...... middle of paper .......p., nd Web. April 13, 2014. Kaplan, Steven. “The things they carried.” Understanding Tim O'Brien. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1995. 169-192. Rep. in News Criticism. Ed. Thomas J. Schoenberg and Lawrence J. Trudeau. Flight. 79. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Literary Resource Center. Internet. April 13, 2014. Lindbloom, James. "Gadfly Interview with Tim O'Brien, 3.99." Gadfly interview with Tim O'Brien, 3.99. Interview with Gadfly, and Web. April 13, 2014 O'Brien, Tim. "'The things they carried,' 20 years later." Literary Resource Center. Literary Resource Center, nd Web. April 13, 2014. “Tim O’Brien.” Contemporary popular writers. Ed. Dave Mote. Detroit: St. James Press, 1997. Literary Resource Center. Internet. April 6, 2014. Zins, Daniel L. “Imagining reality: the fiction of Tim O'Brien”. Review Hollins 23.3 (1986): 1+. Literary Resource Center. Internet. April 13. 2014.