APO 96225

I found this poem very sad and disheartening. I think situational irony is taking place here. The mother knows her son is holding back information, but once she gets the information it's too much for her to handle. I think the irony is effective because it's very understandable. Most mothers worry about everything especially their children, and they can't stand to hear bad things happening to them. I think this poem really relates to America and it's past.
The questions after the poem stated that APO 96225 was the mailing address for the 25th Infantry Division in Vietnam. I know that during the Vietnam War and just wars in general, the people at home really have no idea what's taking place overseas. They act like they want to know what's going on but they really don't want anything to do with the horrific scenes taking place. At first the mother wanted to know everything telling her son "don't hold back" and "tell us what it's really like". However, once she learned the truth, the father had to respond to the son telling him that his story was "upsetting" his mother. I think this is true for many people. We want to hide problems and act like they don't exist so that we don't have to deal with them.