William McKeever

The Vietnam War, like any war, is a collection of many stories that come together to form a single narrative for those who experienced it. These thoughts, emotions, and struggles all come together to create the picture that we have of the war today. “Making of a Soldier” follows Vietnam veterans’ experiences. Each story is unique and is a piece of a bigger picture. Together, it provides us a look at how everyone in the country was affected by the war, how they came home and readjusted to civilian life, and how the war continues to reach them to this day. .

A young woman named Emily has just arrived in New York from Pittsburgh and has recently changed her name to Chazz. Jobless, she responds to an ad involving parrot-sitting for a Manhattanite going out of town, and must weather the emotional repercussions of the humiliating thing she decides to do while cooped up house-sitting, which precipitates in her eavesdropping on the neighbors, all the while having unreciprocated conversations with the parrot.