Dennis Fritzinger’s poem “Charlie Don’t Surf” characterizes a war veteran’s feelings with regards to their call of duty in Vietnam. Set during the period of the Vietnam War, specifically on the ground where the U.
S. Army was fighting the war, the poem tries to show how the author saw his experience serving the army during the 1970s.Basically, the poem tries to depict how the author believed that the war was dangerous and how lives could be lost by simple errors in judgment. For instance, by veering away from one’s battalion could make him falling into enemy hands and may cause the soldier to suffer.Also, the poem tells of the author’s realization that the Vietnamese are not easy preys. In the poem, the author writes of how the Vietnamese man is able to surf the way that Americans, specifically Californians can surf.
In the poem, Fritzinger writes:“he said, "you chicken?" and rushed on outi followed him quick, for i had no doubtfor a california man, in his natural pride,could show uncle ho one helluva ride”What this means is that the Vietnamese soldiers were as brave and as skilled as the Americans. They had the ability to challenge the Americans in their own game and they could compete with the American soldiers on equal grounds. Also, Fritzinger wrote:“I did everything that'd ever been seentill ho he was looking awful greenbut he doubled his efforts, and soon i sawthat he was well-seasoned, he was not raw”What this meant was that the Americans underestimated the Vietnamese. They thought that the war would be smooth sailing and that they would triumph and easily win the war.
But as shown in the said stanza, the American soldiers were mistaken. The Vietnamese could put up a good fight. They can battle hard with the Americans and play the game of the Americans.The title “Charlie Don’t Surf” can refer to the realization of the author that the Vietnam War was not simply play time for Americans. It turned out that the Vietnam War was a struggle for them and that their enemies were as skilled and as brave as they were.
Fritzinger’s other poems also talk about a soldier’s experiences on the battlefield and how the war may affect the mind set of the soldier even after the war. In “Cool Dad”, the author, through one line, describes how the thought of a loved one leaving to go to war affects the individual. It shows that a soldier’s battle is not his battle alone. Those who love him are also battling. They battle the thought of losing a loved one and the thought of hearing the sad news.
On the other hand, “Brown Bread” tells Fritzinger’s story of his own father’s struggles in the German war. In the poem, Fritzinger characterizes his own emotions with regards to his father’s suffering. Just like “Cool Dad”, “Brown Bread” shows how loved ones are affected as war. Through the author’s own emotions and feelings that he writes about, one can see how the soldier’s loved ones become victims of war because of their pain seeing the soldier forever scarred by his battles.Through the 3 poems discussed, Dennis Fritzinger was able to tackle the different facets of war and how it affects those involved.
