Vietnam Veteran?

[Dark Shadow]

My theory is that Travis may have served in the Vietnam War some years prior to the events of Origins. First of all let’s look at the year the game takes place, 1973, as said in The Adversary’s timeline, and the possible ages for Travis, suggested here. If we go with his age being 24 then lets go back 6 years to when he was eighteen, the year would be 1967, and it would be during the draft. Drafting ran from 1948 to 1973, and he seems like a likely candidate to me (able bodied, doesn't strike me as someone pursuing a higher education, etc.).

Most veterans returning from the war had a large difficulty finding jobs due to lack of education, lack of government aid, and in some cases PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Truck driving would be a common job for veterans, due in part to it’s low requirements. This website dedicated to finding veterans a job also has truck driver listed in it.

He seems to have training with firearms, and considering his remarks in the motel against taxidermy, I can't really see him being a hunter. Although I know there could be other explanations, having a military past would explain that nicely.

When we get to Andy's bookstore there is a newly released Vietnam book on display, and next to the display is a cardboard cutout of a soldier holding the assault rifle. The soldier depicted is none other than Travis himself. Since Silent Hill has manifested things similar to this (such as Mary’s clothing on the mannequin, James’ bodies, etc.) it seems like it could be a possibility.

If we take Homecoming into account with this theory it would help explain his willingness to help Alex out.

As for the people who like to believe that Travis is a killer, if he was in Vietnam he very well may have been.

I doubt it would have been a big part of his life, and if he did serve I doubt it was for very long, but it does do a nice job of explaining things.

So anyway that's my theory.

[crucifix]

i think it's possible, but not likely.

[PyrmidHeadPwner]

Seems valid to me. Great find!

[Kenji]

I would think being a Vietnam vet would be a much more important element of Travis's life than his driving a truck. Not to mention that it'd widely separate him from the past protagonists and give him that "original" cred: Remember how much they harped on Alex being a vet?

I can't imagine Travis going to Vietnam and the things happening there being unable to unseat roadkill and loneliness (as a trucker) as large, monster-creating symbols in his mind. Even if he had a relatively cushy time.

[angelofROOM302]

Very interesting.

[PyrmidHeadPwner]

Well Kenji, I beg to differ, I mean:

I was always wondering about the cardboard cut-out in the book store, and it seems to check out fine. The Butcher could very well be a manifestation of his guilt for killing people (in the war) so, like R.P.T., it's created with a cleaver and a butcher robe, and you can see Travis' expression when he finishes it off. Also, the way he handles guns so well.

My 2 cents.

[paladin181]

Eh. If he wasa vet and had guilt over the war, that would be a larger part of his story. The fact that his parents are dead and he has people skill issues is more prevalent though. In fact, him being a vietnam vet would have been a GREAT premise for the story, especially if it wasn't mentioned till later in, and his repressed feelings about it caused a lot of his problems. Had they mentioned it at all, I would TOTALLY buy into this story line. But because they didn't, and knowing how messed up people got from Vietnam (My dad was a Marine in Vietnam and I lived with his scars for YEARS), I'd have to give this one a pass and say they never got to his number. Not a bad theory, but pure conjecture.

[PyrmidHeadPwner]

True, they would have mentioned it somewhere.

[FiliusMartis]

While I don't buy it, for reasons already stated, I can accept that it's a strong possibility that it was an idea toyed around with, and perhaps you have found some lingering scraps of it. I didn't recall the cutout detail, so thanks for pointing it out.

On the other hand, a large part of Travis, what seems to define his world almost, is a repressed rage, not guilt. Considering that, it's possible that he went to a shooting range or something- it's not uncommon. That being said, I never noticed that he was exceptionally gifted with guns, but that could well be because I rarely use them.

[MariaRising]

Very interesting thing to think about

[The Adversary]

I just found this thread after the OP, Dark Shadow, PMd me several years ago before posting it. I think it's an interesting idea, and fairly plausible.

Based on my semi-recent research into Travis' age, I think he's 30 at the time of SILENT HILL: ORIGINS. With ORIGINS occurring in 1976 (Dark Shadow used my old dates before a major revision), he would have been born in 1946, and would have been 18 in 1964, right at the height of the Vietnam conflict. He could easily have been drafted during that time.

I also understand the argument that, had Travis been involved in Vietnam, it would have been a bigger factor in his story. However, we have to remember it wasn't until the events of SILENT HILL that caused the large-scale shift that would cause people to be drawn to the town. So the monsters are still Alessa's manifestations, not Travis', and his history wouldn't necessarily play a large part in the story, besides the mother/father thing.

Is it inconsequential to the story? More or less. Still an interesting thought.

[Jonipoon]

>So the monsters are still Alessa's manifestations, not Travis'

Are they all though? A case could certainly be made for the Remnants and the Butcher to come out of Alessa's manifestations, but both Momma and Sad Daddy are undeniably Travis' since they are based on his parents. So it doesn't really make sense lore-wise (unless of course Alessa is fucking with Travis' head, but that's also doubtful since Alessa didn't reach her full power until the events of the first game).

The popular fan theory is that Travis has some sort of powers himself, which would consequently explain him being able to traverse between the mirrors. However, you don't need to turn Travis into a psychic to make it work (I never liked that theory anyway). While we do know that the town wasn't able to reach out to people with darkness in their hearts until AFTER the events of the first game, there's nothing that indicates it wasn't able to manifest the fears of people who were already there. Travis wasn't drawn to Silent Hill, he just happend to drive by. Unlucky guy.

[The Adversary]

>Are they all though?<
Richard and Helen are distorted by Alessa's own powers, not necessarily directly manifested by Travis. And, I dunno about Alessa not reaching her "full power" 'til 7 years later. She seemed pretty powerful by the end of the game once the Flauros is used. The other monsters are very much Alessa's creations, especially those having to do with Shakespeare.

>Travis has some sort of powers himself, which would consequently explain him being able to traverse between the mirrors.<
Yet we know people don't need any sort of powers to go through the mirrors. Helen believed in the [otherside], and a psych note in the "Mirror, Mirror" sidequest in SILENT HILL: DOWNPOUR also indicates there's a mirror world. Heck, even SILENT HILL 3 suggests there's a "mirror world."

I definitely disagree that Travis has any powers whatsoever. There's really nothing to indicate that. Conversely, there was clearly a reason for him to be in Silent Hill, and that's to confront his own demons—namely his mother trying to kill him and his father (possibly) being a serial killer.

[Jonipoon]

^I don't know, it seems pretty inconsistent since there are no other examples of people's monsters being created by someone else's influence. Like in Walter's world for example, all of the monsters are Walter's and you never encounter anything based on the fears of the other characters that are created by Walter. It would require an extremely talented psychic to be able to look into other people's minds and summon their fears. And although Alessa certainly could possess such capabilites, it's not very likely since she is never shown to be doing this again. You'd also have to explain all of the notes, documents and flashbacks relating to Travis' past also being the result of Alessa's influence which just seems strange. It's clear to me that the town must be doing this to Travis. And yes, we know Travis is constantly asking Alessa "Are you doing this to me?" but that's just what he thinks.

When it comes to Alessa's full power potential she's clearly more powerful in the first game compared to Origins. In the first game she can project huge force fields and push people over with telekinesis. Besides, whatever extra powers she gained after the Flauros was completed and Dahlia's spell broke, it doesn't really matter since it occurs after Travis has encountered his parents.

People have been disappearing from Silent Hill for a long time, so it's clear that the town has always had some sort of power albeit not as powerful as after the events of the first game. Therefore it is not impossible to draw the conclusion that the town could've been able to manifest people's fears in some capacity even before Alessa came into the picture. Evidently, Helen Grady saw something in the mirrors. All in all, this would be consistent with the power of the town increasing after the events of the first game. Travis has darkness in his heart, but he wasn't pulled to Silent Hill by the town itself (because it couldn't have). His history with the town, however, is a coincidence.

[leftshoe18]

If we take Past Life as canon (which I believe it is supposed to be) then the town was definitely able to manifest people's inner demons long before Alessa.

[The Adversary]

Yeah, SILENT HILL: PAST LIFE is an official entry in the series, and Jebediah's dark past is definitely manifested in Silent Hill, long before Alessa (it's set in 1867).

>You'd also have to explain all of the notes, documents and flashbacks relating to Travis' past<
I'm not saying Alessa is fully responsible for everything. But the monsters are, for the most part, manifestations of hers, created by the town; whereas Helen and Sad Daddy are clear manifestations of Travis.

I should have said "distorted by the town's powers" before, not "Alessa's powers" (I just started a new medication so my brain is a mess and I'm having a hard time focusing at times).

>Travis has darkness in his heart, but he wasn't pulled to Silent Hill by the town itself<
That's the thing, though. Murphy has his own darkness, yet he wasn't necessarily drawn to Silent Hill—it was also pretty circumstantial. Just because you're not summoned or given a letter from your dead wife doesn't mean you can't end up there and have your inner fears projected as creatures or even notes.