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Michael Shimek
Conscious From A Canopy
Conscious From A Canopy
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Conscious from a Canopy… by Michael Shimek, Is a brave look through the eyes of a 19 year old inner city kid (Mike Shimek) as he looks out from the streets he had grown up on, towards war.
The first conflict the Author runs into is the decision to go to war or to Canada. Could he survive Canada? What would that look like? What would be his job? Would his girlfriend come along and what about her parents? Would he always be hunted and viewed as an anti-American? WWII was fought as a moral war with a clear enemy and approval rating of 97%. To be 19 years old in the 1960s would have meant that, parents remembering the glory of WWII, wouldn't understand their sons running off to Canada to avoid their civic duty. Fathers to embarrassed to look coworkers in the eyes, mothers disgraced and gossiped about at church. This brought on an enormous parent pressure.
The unknown of going to war or going to live underground in Canada are the same. Without hindsight, surviving Canada seemed more daunting. Mike's decision was not an easy one, driving all the way up to Canada he flirted with the idea of leaving, instead he turned around and went to Vietnam.
Vietnam meant surviving in total chaos, where the inmates ran the asylum. Where to be a good soldier you keep your head down and being a hero is not welcomed.
Conscious from a Canopy gives a great account of being plunged from basic training into combat into surviving base camp.
There is a sense of powerlessness by decisions made by superiors who may be insane. The Army climate changed mission to mission. At first the Army reached out protecting civilians, but soon the army demanded high body counts regardless of civilian causality. At the same time more drafted soldiers replaced the voluntary soldiers. The war had become total chaos, to survive it was best not to attach yourself emotionally to anything. This is helpful when soldiers ship back home or ship out in body bags. To survive always second-guess your superiors, stay awake and not volunteer for anything. Conscious from a Canopy is what life looked like during Mike's tour of duty, snapshots of the chaos that a soldier crawls through to survive.
Upon returning home the real survival begins. The mental photograph of how life was before you left for war and the reality of what it is when you return, the fact that your experiences of war cannot be understood by civilians. When the external war finishes the internal war begins. Conscious from a Canopy explains what it is like to live with PTSD and experience flashbacks all in the backdrop of civilian life. Throughout the book the theme of survivor rings true. I got a real glimpse of the Vietnam War seen through the eyes of a 19 year old. Good Book Dad. Joe Shimek
The first conflict the Author runs into is the decision to go to war or to Canada. Could he survive Canada? What would that look like? What would be his job? Would his girlfriend come along and what about her parents? Would he always be hunted and viewed as an anti-American? WWII was fought as a moral war with a clear enemy and approval rating of 97%. To be 19 years old in the 1960s would have meant that, parents remembering the glory of WWII, wouldn't understand their sons running off to Canada to avoid their civic duty. Fathers to embarrassed to look coworkers in the eyes, mothers disgraced and gossiped about at church. This brought on an enormous parent pressure.
The unknown of going to war or going to live underground in Canada are the same. Without hindsight, surviving Canada seemed more daunting. Mike's decision was not an easy one, driving all the way up to Canada he flirted with the idea of leaving, instead he turned around and went to Vietnam.
Vietnam meant surviving in total chaos, where the inmates ran the asylum. Where to be a good soldier you keep your head down and being a hero is not welcomed.
Conscious from a Canopy gives a great account of being plunged from basic training into combat into surviving base camp.
There is a sense of powerlessness by decisions made by superiors who may be insane. The Army climate changed mission to mission. At first the Army reached out protecting civilians, but soon the army demanded high body counts regardless of civilian causality. At the same time more drafted soldiers replaced the voluntary soldiers. The war had become total chaos, to survive it was best not to attach yourself emotionally to anything. This is helpful when soldiers ship back home or ship out in body bags. To survive always second-guess your superiors, stay awake and not volunteer for anything. Conscious from a Canopy is what life looked like during Mike's tour of duty, snapshots of the chaos that a soldier crawls through to survive.
Upon returning home the real survival begins. The mental photograph of how life was before you left for war and the reality of what it is when you return, the fact that your experiences of war cannot be understood by civilians. When the external war finishes the internal war begins. Conscious from a Canopy explains what it is like to live with PTSD and experience flashbacks all in the backdrop of civilian life. Throughout the book the theme of survivor rings true. I got a real glimpse of the Vietnam War seen through the eyes of a 19 year old. Good Book Dad. Joe Shimek
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