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The thread starter does a great disservice to the brave young men and women fighting currently in Afghanistan and in Iraq, as well as those whom fought during WWII.
My step-father was a young Marine in WWII, and is a very tough old guy to this day, but he would be the first to admit that he and everyone around him was scared as hell. When you see friends wounded and killed, you can't help but cry sometimes.
Since they were involved in close combat, they could see the faces and hear the cries of the enemy troops, and the civilians as well. Even that haunts and scares you.
I served in the Navy for six years, although I was never in combat, however I had many friends that were in combat, and most would mention how terrifying it was at times.
One of the saddest days of my life occurred when several of my friends died in a plane crash during a routine training flight at the base where I was stationed. We heard the plane crash (and at the time didn't know which aircraft it was), but by the time I arrived at the air strip a few blocks away, word had already spread, and there was a large group of people hugging each other and crying, since it was obvious that all aboard had perished.
My roommate at the time was a corpsman, and was among the group that had to recover the bodies and body parts after the fire was extinguished. He was so traumatized by the experience that within six months he was given a medical discharge.
I'm about as anti-war as a person can be, and I was absolutely against the war in Iraq, however I nonetheless respect and honor our people who serve in the military, regardless about how I feel about the war they are in. When I dislike a specific war, I take it up with the politicians that are authorizing and funding it, not the troops.
I hope the original poster will take the time to view this video:
A book that I also highly recommend to all is "Johnny Got His Gun", by Dalton Trumbo.
Peace,
ADG
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