Question

What does Paul wish his father would do?

Answer 1

​ He wishes his father would just listen to him about what happened to him in Vietnam and all the horrors he went through and give him credit for the 7 medals he had received for his efforts in the war. However, his father was in a rather depressed state and did not see medals as a measure of a man's ability or heroism. All his son wanted to do was get some of the pressures of the war off his chest and be admired some by his dad but it was useless and it just had to keep it inside. The guilt and the good that he felt was a burden he carried. He also wished his father would recognize what a good soldier he himself had been instead of withdrawing to himself after the war. As a result he sees and feels no use for his life after the war