Day of Days
watching "Band of Brothers" makes me think about the phenomenon of war in general, but also how i picture myself faring. part of me thinks i would stand up and yell at the enemy, "stop it! just stop it. stop firing at us! it's annoying and loud. knock that sh*t off."
part of me thinks i would fail--have the wrong instincts, not be alert enough, not be a good leader or end up with a crappy leader i wouldn't want to follow. i wonder what it's like to be in a situation where you could die at any moment, where gruesome things happen all around you and to your friends all the time. i've never considered my life so cheaply before.
i wonder if i would be the type of person to sacrifice my life, knowing it would be better to die honorably than live shamefully and cowardly when everyone else was dying instead. you see and hear accounts where leaders head right into the line of fire because they were ordered to or because it's the only way to lead their men where they're supposed to go, knowing they would die. like on d-day, leaders would get shot and with their last breath continue to direct their men forward. there's even a film clip from war I that shows soldiers charging across "no man's land," and one guy gets shot and falls, but lifts his arm up and looks behind him to gesture his men to continue forward, and then dies.
would i risk my life to save someone else? actually, i would probably get fed up with all the gear you have to carry and stand around complaining and cursing the situation. i just know how lucky i am not to have to fight. lots of people aren't/weren't that lucky. i don't want to take what i have for granted just because i was raised in a generation free of the kind of adversity people have faced throughout most of history.
i either would have ended up despising the whole experience, and remaining a private, or else be recognized for modest leadership skills and become a sergeant or corporal, but that's about it. or maybe moved to intel, because while i'm not that smart, i'm probably smarter than the average army draftee.
part of me thinks i would fail--have the wrong instincts, not be alert enough, not be a good leader or end up with a crappy leader i wouldn't want to follow. i wonder what it's like to be in a situation where you could die at any moment, where gruesome things happen all around you and to your friends all the time. i've never considered my life so cheaply before.
i wonder if i would be the type of person to sacrifice my life, knowing it would be better to die honorably than live shamefully and cowardly when everyone else was dying instead. you see and hear accounts where leaders head right into the line of fire because they were ordered to or because it's the only way to lead their men where they're supposed to go, knowing they would die. like on d-day, leaders would get shot and with their last breath continue to direct their men forward. there's even a film clip from war I that shows soldiers charging across "no man's land," and one guy gets shot and falls, but lifts his arm up and looks behind him to gesture his men to continue forward, and then dies.
would i risk my life to save someone else? actually, i would probably get fed up with all the gear you have to carry and stand around complaining and cursing the situation. i just know how lucky i am not to have to fight. lots of people aren't/weren't that lucky. i don't want to take what i have for granted just because i was raised in a generation free of the kind of adversity people have faced throughout most of history.
i either would have ended up despising the whole experience, and remaining a private, or else be recognized for modest leadership skills and become a sergeant or corporal, but that's about it. or maybe moved to intel, because while i'm not that smart, i'm probably smarter than the average army draftee.
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