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He stopped. He looked right at me. That’s where the image of his eyes was burned into my brain forever, right over the sights of my M-16.
My feelings then? It felt pleasurable and satisfying to see Ohio ripping that kid apart on full automatic.
In combat you are already over some edge. You are in a fierce state where there is a primitive and savage joy in doing in your enemy.
I have never been in combat. But I recall the joy of shooting my rifle for the first time; the rush of attacking an imaginary enemy with a thumping CV-90 auto-cannon on my right; the grin on my face as my platoon fired a Javelin missile at a heap of discarded metal. It comes nowhere close to the intense experience of those who fought, died, and survived a war, but I recognize in myself the capacity for brutal violence.
I don’t believe in pulling punches during a fight to the death.
It’s very hard to say when one becomes morally and legally responsible for a prisoner’s life, given that such decisions often involve risking the lives of your own people.
I studied international humanitarian law and have read countless articles and commentaries on prisoners of war. But none have come close to capturing the emotional cost and moral dimension than this quote right here.
We had learned that there were pangs too sharp, griefs too deep, ecstasies too high for our finite selves to register.
the warrior must understand that almost all those he kills, civilian or military, will probably not be there by their own choice.
I don’t feel guilty. I feel sad.
There is a deep savage joy in destruction,
You can’t be a good person until you observe how bad you are. It is only when the evil is conscious that it can be countered.
Bless these dead, our former enemies, who have played out their part, hurled against us by the forces that hurled us against them. Bless us who live, whose parts are not yet done, and who know not how they shall be played. Forgive us if we killed in anger or hatred. Forgive them if they did the same. Judgment is Yours, not ours. We are only human.
