The "baby boom" era occurred between the late 1950s and the 1997s and shaped America and its culture to make it the type of country it is today. . It is helpful to understand this era to prevent history from repeating itself while also better understanding how people felt at that time. Also, to better understand what was happening at that time by reading the literature written at that time. From Tim O'Brien's “How to Tell a True War Story” to Ursula K. Le Guin's “Those Who Walk Away from Omelas,” they reflect the cultural, economic, political and intellectual upheavals that the United States is experiencing. United. These stories affect the way you think about this era, especially the war. The Vietnam War was one of the major events that occurred during the “baby boom” era. This era was called the baby boom because the United States was going to war and all the men were being drafted so the men wanted to pursue their wives. However, the Vietnam War began because the country chose to support South Vietnam to fight for anti-communism against North Vietnam (Dudley 91). The war started in 1961 and lasted until 1975, and had many names such as "American War", "Second Indochina War" and the communists called it the "War of Liberation" (Lawrence 1) . Additionally, John F. Kennedy served as president during this time, specifically between 1961 and 1963, but his term ended prematurely due to his assassination (Dudley 91). But in 1963, there were sixteen thousand troops in South Vietnam. The war was very emotional and traumatic for those who served. As expressed by O'Brien in How to Tell a True War Story, his friend, Bob Kiley or better known as Rat, writes a letter to his friend's sister because he has passed away. Rat wanted to express h...... middle of paper ...... aeronautics and space administration. Np, July 25, 2005. Web. April 23, 2014.Guin, Ursula K Le. Those who move away from Omelas. Literature and ourselves. Sixth edition. Ed. Gloria Mason Henderson, Anna Dunlap Higgins, Bill Day, Sandra Stevenson Waller. New York: Pearson Education, 2009. 729-734. Print.Lawrence, Mark Atwood. The Vietnam War A Concise International History. San Diego: Oxford University Press, 2008. 1-5. eBook.O'Brien, Tim. How to tell a real war story. Literature and ourselves. Sixth edition. Ed. Gloria Mason Henderson, Anna Dunlap Higgins, Bill Day, Sandra Stevenson Waller. New York: Pearson Education, 2009. 789-799. Print. Rielly, Edward J. The 1960s. American Popular Culture Throughout History. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2003. 9-11. Print.Schmidt, Mark Ray. The 1970s. America's Decades. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2000. 193-201. Print.