Central purpose of "APO 96225"

Question 6: What is the central purpose of the poem?

"APO 96225" was written in respect to situations in the Vietnam War. Essentially, this poem was written to express the attitude American citizens had towards the soldiers and the war in general. Lines 13-18 address the overall attitude well.

"...'Son we want you to tell us everything. Everything!'

So the next time he wrote, the young man said,

'Today I killed a man...'

And the father wrote back,

'Please don't write such depressing letters. You're

upsetting your mother'..."

The American people did not understand the war. They did not care to ask the soldiers about what was going on and they did not want to hear it. Many of them were ignorant of the realities of war and what their loved ones endured. The central purpose of this poem was to express the lack of respect the Vietnam veterans received from the American people.