Times of Change- Wednesday

Jack Smith by Ron Steinman

What challenges does Jack Smith face as a soldier in Vietnam? (a bulleted list is fine)
- He feels unprepared
- He is scared because he sees dead bodies.
- He is being fired at by his own people while he is playing dead.


How does Smith’s attitude toward war change?
- He didn't like war at the end at all.


I Feel Like I’m Fixing To Die Rag by Joe McDonald

This song by Country Joe and the Fish became one of the first protest songs of the Vietnam Era. Read the lyrics to the song, and then respond to the following:

What is the song asking the “big strong men to do”?
-Join the war.
… the “generals” to do?
- Kill the communists in Vietnam
… “Wall Street” to do?
- Support war effort by sending supplies.
… “mothers” to do?
- Send your boys off to Vietnam
Write down four specific lines from the song that display sarcasm, cynicism, or anti-war sentiment.
- whooppee! we're all going to die.
- Be the first one on your block to have your boy come home in a box.
- So put down your books and pick up a gun, we're gonna have a whole lotta fun.
- And you know that peace can only be won when we've blown 'em all to kingdom come.