Ordinary Soldiers have been the most significant part of an armies’ structure throughout military history. They have not only been essential in the continued development of warfare but have also shown great determination when facing the hardest struggles in combat and an ability to complete their objectives. However, even though the ordinary soldier continues to fight and to carry out his orders, he is put through some of the hardest traumas and hardships that the world has ever seen or known. As a result of this, people question why soldiers continue to risk themselves physically and mentally in the affairs of others. Although soldiers have been put through extreme ordeals in combat throughout military history, the ordinary soldier continues to fight for his sense of duty to his country, his belief in the cause, and his comrades in arms; furthermore, these reasons transformed throughout the centuries, as a result of influences such as military, political, and societal.
Even though soldiers are constantly exposed to extreme trauma and ordeal, they still fight for a sense of duty to their state. For example, French troops during the French Revolution fought for their sense of duty to the establishment of a free France. This feeling of responsibility to the state can be seen in Howard’s War In European History when it is said that French troops were fighting as “free men to defend freedom” (79). Also, a sense of duty to the state can be seen in ordinary French soldiers’
In this world, there is no individual more tragic than the one who gazes into their future and is only able to see a perpetual cycle of despair and agony. War, in particular, has this incomprehensibly dark power—the ability to drive even the most cheerful among us into the oppressive void of depression. Indeed, the total and complete loss of hope is among the most destructive consequences of war on the human psyche. An expression of this phenomenon is visible in Paul Baumer’s statement regarding the true psychological state of soldiers. When reflecting upon the experience of being in the military, Baumer says “We are little flames poorly sheltered by frail walls against the storm of dissolution and madness, in which we flicker and sometimes almost go out...Our only comfort is the steady breathing of our comrades asleep, and thus we
Surviving the war was not a matter of intelligently planned decisions, but a series of reactions triggered by primal instincts. The animal instincts within strong soldiers inhibited
They carry many things, they carry a massive amount of weight on their shoulders. However, the heaviest thing that they carry cannot be touched. The intangible weight of fear, loss, anger, and guilt far outweigh any tangible item that they could possibly possess. The Thing They Carried is not only an eye-opening collection of war stories, but it is also a love story, a memoir, and a tribute to the unimaginable things that happen to our soldiers in war zones. War changes men, makes them different, and when they come home they are not the same person and they often have trouble readjusting to the life of a civilian.
In Otto Dix’s “Shock Troops Advance Under Gas”, Dix presents the brutality of war for everyone to see. From the barbed wire snagging a troop’s arm to the gas masks, this work illustrates true horror. Dix’s illustration of war helps display that war truly is not something to write home about with pride. Thus, I present the argument that war is not something to be patriotic over, and it is not something we should be thanking the troops for. They are brave individuals, but the duties they perform are not – they are the product of cowardly nations. The purpose of this paper is to convey my personal feelings towards this work, war and how it is not the answer, and tying in my visit to the McNay Art Museum back to aspects of war.
War requires a lot out of soldiers. They give themselves wholly to their country, including their mind, body, and soul. However, one thing that seems to vary among these men is their sense of duty. In Frank O’Connor’s “Guests of the Nation,” three Irish soldiers form an unlikely friendship with their British prisoners of war. However, things take a turn when they are given orders to execute their new-found friends. When the order reaches the men, the three of them interpret their new duty in various ways. Through the orders of execution, “Guests of the Nation” emphasizes how people react to a sense of duty in varied ways from embracing it with pride, carrying out their duty with confusion and regret, and disobeying by limited participation.
Through the soldiers’ experiences, the narrator shows only the dark side of human nature. Discuss.
Before entering war, soldiers tend to fascinate over the opportunities of adventure and of heroism. According to Jennifer Keene, “once on the front lines, however, American soldiers soon realized that the war was unlikely to be the romantic, heroic interlude that they had imagined while performing bayonet drills in their training camps” (15). These soldiers tend to think that war is a heroic adventure because they simply have no idea what happens in the battlegrounds. Once
As much as it is glamorized on television and video games, people have forgotten the realities of war. For in war, soldiers and civilians alike have suffered severely, and combat has put everyone who is involved to a true test of character. An example of the tests of war is found by looking at Germany’s failed attack on the Russian city of Stalingrad during World War II.
Throughout history, mankind has continued to find reasons to fight with each other. Some of these conflicts seem justified, while some do not. Some are resolved quickly and some last for decades. Some result in great accomplishments, while many, unfortunately, result in nothing but pain, suffering and death. While it is clear that no two wars are the same, almost every war requires at least one thing: men and women who are willing to risk their lives and fight them. Volunteering to fight in a war is a sacrifice that most of us will never even be able to comprehend making. Not only does fighting involve the obvious physical danger, but the mental and psychological toll that a war has on a soldier can be absolutely devastating
Have you ever wondered how do soldiers have the capacity to kill in combat? An article addresses the topic of objectifying and dehumanizing, “Combat troops must minimize the humanness of their enemies in order to kill them”. Of course as human beings, we experience empathy. In war, troops have to put their feelings aside in order to fulfill their tasks and orders.
War has been a part of society since the beginnings of mankind up until modern day. One unfortunate aspect that inevitably comes with warfare is stress. Despite the long, insidious existence of war, little has been known about the effects of stress on people on the front line. Combatant soldiers endure extreme stress while on the battle field and even after returning home. Chronic stress under such environments ultimately results in disastrous changes in those who participate in war. As a soldier sent home from Iraq says, these people have seen “humanity at its worst” (Alpert et al. 2010). A majority of them return home no longer the same people prior to leaving for war as they now suffer from an anxiety disorder known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This psychological disorder not only affects soldiers, but also their families and the community in which they live in. Relationships are torn apart as these people live the nightmare they have survived, leaving them unable to return to the normal life that they thought they could resume.
Anyone who has seen war firsthand has some sort of effect left on them. These effects can be grouped under the category of post-traumatic stress (commonly referred to as PTSD). So what is PTSD? By definition, PTSD is “a trauma- and stress-related disorder resulting from direct or indirect exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence and characterized by persistent difficulties that negatively affect an individual's social interactions, capacity to work, or other areas of functioning.” (Piotrowski,2016) My dad served in two wars, and did four tours total, and the toll it has left on him is immense. This paper is a mere attempt at trying to understand the effects violent conflict can have on a soldier’s state of
However, an aspect that civilians do not always recognize is the physical and emotional trauma linked to the consequences of war. From experiencing physical injuries to witnessing the death of loved ones, war’s effects leave a scarring impact that ordinary citizens may not always acknowledge. The act of civilians looking down upon emotional trauma, connecting it with a decline in masculinity, can certainly be viewed as unethical and ignorant. As soldiers risk their lives to fight, they deserve to receive the utmost support and consolation. Through Regeneration, Barker emphasizes the importance of the home front’s support as he demonstrates the disastrous effects that arise from a lack of adequate concern and compassion.
During combat, soldiers can be feeling a million different things. Even after war, soldiers can be left emotionally scarred for life. Tim O’Brien displays
Soldiers witness massive amounts of torment while fighting. This usually causes the post-traumatic stress disorder to take place in their lives soon after. PTSD is a disorder that develops in [several] people who have experienced a shocking, scary, or dangerous event (NIMH, 2016). Koren, Norman, Cohen, Berman, & Klein (2005), conducted research and examined a study and it “clearly indicate that bodily injury is a major risk factor for among soldiers PTSD.” (para.14). During war men and women feel incomprehensible pain both emotionally and physically. They see ghastly sights of broken bones, death, and fear. Soldiers lose friends and family while they fight. They come home scarred