Another poster here asked the hypothetical question of wether O’Neil made it out of Vietnam.
I want to ask the hypothetical question of what if Sgt. Barnes had survived the last battle and came back home?
What do you think his life trajectory would be like as a civilian? What kind of work would he do? You think he’d be married?
Discuss away!
Well, he would likely have faced a section 8 and court martial for his conduct. Possibly time in military prison. But maybe not as so much was merely swept under the rug in regards to conduct in Vietnam. The US did not really care anything at all about what happened to the South Vietnamese people. It was only about putting up a firewall to burn the tide of communism from spreading elsewhere.
Barnes had completely lost his humanity. What kind of life would he really have? He probably could not relate to anyone or anything in the normal world back home. He would have likely drank heavily, had guilt seep into his conscious and likely eventually killed himself or someone else would have done it once he acted out in a bad way.
I figured he’d get a job like a truck driver or oil rig worker and just be a loner.
shareI think I could see Barnes being one of those guys who lives alone in with his dog in a cabin in the woods.
Like a survivalist type but not a militia survivalist because he's pretty antisocial, and I doubt he'd be able to stand those wannabe soldier types.
Good take
shareI’d bet on this. He’d almost certainly have to live outside of urban or suburban neighborhoods because he’d be a terrible neighbor. He would experience PTSD and bouts of extreme guilt so he would probably drink to excess. His temper would be fierce and he’d likely take potshots at the moon with whatever guns he owned whenever he was really drunk…NOT a good dude to live anywhere near!
shareLike others have said, I think Barnes would have really, really struggled with trying to fit back in to American society. I think he would have died young, most likely from one of these scenarios:
1) Drinking himself to death in a bar
2) Committing suicide
I know that's grim...I could also see Barnes getting in a bar fight and killing a guy also. He just wasn't meant to leave that jungle, though, IMO.
Barnes would definitely be a "back of the bar" guy. You know, the super angry guy who drinks and stares at other bar patrons, looking for a fight.
But yeah, I'd say Barne's odds' for success after his tours in Nam' would be pretty bleak. After all, he wouldn't have any sycophants to suck up to him no more. He wouldn't be a formal nor informal leader anymore, he'd fill that huge vacuum with hard liquor and yell out his war stories to anybody who had the misfortune to be near him. He'd spend a lot of time in the drunk tank, scratching on dirty walls. Prob would meet his demise around the time Coming Home or Deer Hunter was released in theaters.
What was the saying? "You dudes gonna love the Nam, for fuckin' ever"
I wonder might Barnes have followed Martin Riggs path and joined the police force? If Riggs could gain entry to the police department, then why not Barnes? Just a thought!
shareBarnes would have worked his way up through the minors, and then he would have made up with Taylor so they could help the Indians win the pennant.
share