Situational Irony

In the poem "APO 96225" by Larry Rottman, situational irony is used to add a certain effect to the poem. The situational irony occurs when the soldier decides to give in to his mother's request and tell her what he is really doing in Vietnam. The soldier wasn't giving in, and he had been describing the physical conditions of Vietnam, such as the weather. Finally, the soldier informs his mother that he killed a man and many women and children. He then recieves a letter from his father that discourages his graphic description, so the poem ends by him sending the weather report back to his mother. This adds the effect of portraying how the American public viewed the Vietnam War. They knew something bad was happening, but they didn't want to know. The mother knew something bad was going on, but she really didn't want to know.