If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home

work by O’Brien

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July 19, 2026

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If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home is a 1973 non-fiction book by Tim O'Brien. It is a collection of essays detailing his experiences as a U.S. Army soldier during the Vietnam War. O'Brien was opposed to the war but served as a sergeant before returning to the United States in 1970. The book explores the emotional and psychological toll of combat, the moral complexities of war, and the difficulty of reconciling civilian life with wartime experiences. It was O'Brien's first published book after his military service.12

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Tim O’Brien
Return from the war, journalism career, and early books
…experiences in his first book, If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home (1973). By turns meditative and brutally realistic, it was praised for its honest portrayal of a soldier’s emotions.
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…experiences in his first book, If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home (1973). By turns meditative and brutally realistic, it was praised for its honest portrayal of a soldier’s emotions.
Read More