Task 1:
About Steve Carlsen
Steve Carlsen was born and lives in Dowagiac Michigan. He joined the United States Army in October 2000 and went to Infantry Basic Training, and Airborne School in Ft. Benning Georgia. He then reported to D Company 1st battalion 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. 82nd Airborne Division in Ft. Bragg North Carolina. He deployed to Kosovo in November 2001 as part of peace keeping operations. He Deployed to Afghanistan in of December 2002 where he participated in combat operations. He was honorably discharged from the Army in 2003. He currently attends Southwestern Michigan College where his professor, Dr Michael Collins challenged him to write about his experiences.
The poem talks about Steve Carlsen, a war veteran, his war experience in Afghanistan. The first 2 lines of the poem tells us that the soldiers emptied the injured and dead soldiers out of the plane in front of the author. They had no idea where they should land to for their combat operations. They also ungraciously and unwillingly landed in the middle of the fierce battlefield, which caused the author to panic and afraid. They ran for cover from the fast and furious bullets, terrified by the deaths of their comrades. They fought on all sorts of terrain, tired and frightened, but they were always ensuring that they were well prepared. They were like living in hell they blocked the thoughts of death from their mind. The author feels that fighting in a war and experience shooting with death just few steps away from you, you will have changed. You no longer think that war is proud and glorious but frightening and sad with deaths revolving around you.
{the riddle of red}
