“I was ordered to go in there and destroy the enemy...That was my job on that day. That was the mission I was given. I did not sit down and think in terms of men, women and children” (William Calley 1970). Lieutenant William Calley was explaining to his audience as he testified at Court-Martial in defense of his actions during the war. Calley explains that its not an easy duty, and that they must do what was ordered each day without questioning why they were going to go destroy the enemy. In the short story, Ambush, by Tim O’Brien, the lieutenant has to make a huge decision on weather or not he should throw a grenade and take a life or allow the enemy to kill him and his war buddy. When trying to not overthink the situation and proceeding through …show more content…
Although people have several different relationships, one of the most important is when lieutenant Cross says, “It was a difficult moment, but I did what seemed right, which was to say, “ Of course not” (O’Brien 811). This demonstrates one of the hardships faced with his relationship between him and his daughter. During this hard time he had to lie to his daughter and tell her that no he didn’t kill anyone even though he wanted her to know the truth. One of the hardest things to face as a person fighting at war is when they take a life, they don’t get to walk away from it, they will always be linked. According to Navon, “For without deterministic cause-and-effect relationships in the world one could not plan to affect one’s own will”(Navon 2010). No matter what it is the bottom line is they have a say in their actions its called free will. Everyone uses free will it's just the way people use it weather they think they have free will but in the end your making the …show more content…
He displays this when he says, “I tried to swallow whatever was rising from my stomach, which tasted like lemonade, something fruity and sour”(O’Brien 812). O’Brien uses these specific details showing us how much stress was building up in Cross’s stomach as he’s about to change his life. Cross is realizing that he has to throw the grenade because he knows if he doesn't that him and his buddy will not make it back home to there families. The situations that build this much stress happen all the time on the battlefield while some people think its nothing at all. According to Wilks, “Research designed to investigate the concepts of free will and determinism in relation to the etiology of human behavior continues to be an important line of inquiry” (Bavel, FeldmanHall, & Mende-Siedlecki, 2015). This shows the it is important and that there is a relationship between human behavior and weather or not someone is going to do something. We as humans do things voluntary and dont always think about what we're really doing but when it comes down to we decide right or wrong
When looking at the Special Operations (SO) Imperatives, one can gain an understanding of how to change their way of looking at problems that they are faced with in any scenario. By applying these imperatives, Special Forces Soldiers can set the conditions to succeed in any situation that they find themselves in. When reading The Ugly American by William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick, there are several examples of the correct application and the lack of application of the imperatives throughout the book. Taking a look at the Office of Strategic Service (OSS) linking up with John Colvin during the war, Father Finian and how he operated with and through others, and how Louis Krupitzyn and his wife understood their operational environment and Colonel Hillendale also mastered this skill and was the right man for the job. I will explain how the SO imperatives were applied correctly. Joe Bing and his inability to recognize the political implications while in Setkya and Tom Knox’s return trip from Cambodia serve as great examples of how the imperatives need to be applied correctly.
G.K.Chesterton once quoted, “The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” The novel Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden, recounts the struggles of a Canadian soldier through his tedious and terrible experiences fighting for his country against the Germans. Throughout the novel, the protagonist was disgusted by the blood and trauma war brings, however, he knew that it was imperative to kill, or else he would not have survived. In war, it is kill or be killed, someone who is wise will kill to survive and protect his country, as well as avenge his family or comrades.
In Soft Spots: A Marine’s Memoir of Combat and Post-traumatic stress disorder, Sargent Clint Van Winkle participated in one of the bloodiest wars in Iraq. Sargent Winkle signed up to protect his country, without truly understanding the reason for the war. He did not know what to expect, what was going to happen, exactly who it was going to happen to, but courageously he was out there waiting on an answer that in fact was never revealed. However, Winkle was a part of that war, which made him agree with the terms that led. He was trained to follow orders, forced to survive, and made a pact to protect the guy to right and to the left of him. Despite being diagnosed with PTSD and the uncertainties of whether the war was worthy or not, he favored
Throughout the battle, you see numerous Army Values and Warrior Ethos being used. “I will never leave a fallen comrade”, was the etho used the most, to reach the separated platoon. The battle also shows that not all tactical orders are effective, but as a leader you must never second guess yourself.
These men are transformed into guilt-laden soldiers in less than a day, as they all grapple for a way to come to terms with the pain of losing a comrade. In an isolated situation, removed from the stressors, anxieties, and uncertainties of war, perhaps they may have come to a more rational conclusion as to who is deserving of blame. But tragically, they cannot come to forgive themselves for something for which they are not even guilty. As Norman Bowker so insightfully put it prior to his unfortunate demise, war is “Nobody’s fault, everybody’s” (197).
In life, everyone needs to survive in some way. Some people may have to survive from hunger, or maybe they have to survive without a home, or without a family. How you try to survive makes all the difference. In the short story “Attack,” by Ralph Fletcher a boy and his family’s roosters are attacked. But, everyone still believes that some roosters are alive. “Attack” shows, there is always a way to survival. This is true when, the mom believes there are survivors, also when two people in the family go into the woods and don’t give up looking for roosters that have survived, and most of all when the mom and Johnny a brother come back with two rooster survivors.
Murder is a reprobate action that is an inevitable part of war. It forces humans into immoral acts, which can manifest in the forms such as shooting or close combat. The life of a soldier is ultimately decided from the killer, whether or not he follows through with his actions. In the short stories The Sniper by Liam O'Flaherty and Just Lather, That's All by Hernando Téllez, the killer must decide the fate of their victims under circumstantial constraints. The two story explore the difference between killing at a close proximity compared to killing at a distance, and how they affect the killer's final decision.
Life can bring unexpected events that individuals might not be prepared to confront. This was the case of O’Brien in the story, “On the Rainy River” from the book The Things They Carried. As an author and character O’Brien describes his experiences about the Vietnam War. In the story, he faces the conflict of whether he should or should not go to war after being drafted. He could not imagine how tough fighting must be, without knowing how to fight, and the reason for such a war. In addition, O’Brien is terrified of the idea of leaving his family, friends and everything he loves behind. He decides to run away from his responsibility with the society. However, a feeling of shame and embarrassment makes him go to war. O’Brien considers himself a coward for doing something he does not agree with; on the other hand, thinking about the outcome of his decision makes him a brave man. Therefore, an individual that considers the consequences of his acts is nobler than a war hero.
In A Tactical Ethic, Moral Conduct in the Insurgent Battlespace, author Dick Couch addresses what he believes to be an underlying problem, most typical of small units, of wanton ethical and moral behavior partly stemming from the negative “ethical climate and moral culture” of today’s America (Couch, D., 2010, p. 15). In chapter one, he reveals what A Tactical Ethic will hope to accomplish; that is identify the current ethics of today’s military warriors, highlight what is lacking, and make suggestions about what can be done to make better the ethical behavior of those on the battlefield and in garrison. He touches on some historic anecdotes to highlight the need for high ethics amongst today’s military warriors as well as briefly mentions
Each soldier carries many things, both physically and mentally, during times of war and strife. For the war, the United States implements a draft in which young men are drafted and forced to go into the military for the war. Many of these soldiers are young, immature, and escaping adulthood, yet there is one phase of life that cannot be avoided: death. Cross felt responsible for the younger kids’ death because he felt it was his job to protect the innocent.
Here, Lt. Cross has burned the letters and photographs of Martha. This quote reveals much about not only Jimmy Cross, but also the other soldiers. Jimmy had been using the fantasy of Martha as an escape from the harsh realities of war. However, he became so engrossed with the fantasy of Martha that he started to neglect his duties as a leader. As a result of Jimmy’s negligence, Ted Lavender dies. Jimmy feels guilty, and decides to burn all the things related to Martha. However, Cross realizes he cannot make the guilt disappear by burning it. Even though the burning was just a gesture, it shows that Cross is ready to take responsibility of his soldiers and be a better leader. The quote is important because it conveys the adversity soldiers face when trying to deal with the realities of the war and the fantasies of comfort after the war soldiers dream of. O’Brien is trying to tell the readers that soldiers find the actuality of war quite obfuscated.
Horner states " throughout gender history, men have been pressured to react to deadly crisis according to the sacred rules of a male honor code. From Odysseus to King Arthur, from Ulysses to George Washington and from Aeneas to Norman Schwarzkopf, clearly the most widely accepted values of integrity, dignity, respect, self respect, valor and thus unquestioned masculinity hinge upon a commissioned response to fear and duty." (Horner, 1999) Tim Obrien shows that the classic battle of good versus evil. Lieutenant Cross's desires of Martha created an illusion that caused him to focus on himself, instead of his troops. The central tension comes between his imaginary love affair and the real responsibilities he has as the officer in command. He bypassed all his responsibilities, for his
The narrator opens the conversation with the white haired man by stating, “We had a mission today. Target was ten kliks south of here? (...) It was my first mission like that…” (284). It is important to note the way in which our narrator trails off at the end of his statement. The narrator purposely avoids specifying the contents of the day’s mission because he is haunted by guilt. The uncertainty of the narrator’s mindset is later reiterated when he expresses, “I just never killed anybody before. Neither have I, he says. But I did. I think. I mean, we just shot the rounds off” (284). The key words in this excerpt are “we just shot the rounds off”, so he feels as though he did not play a major role in the deaths of the enemies. This mindset can be connected to a conversation had earlier in the story between the narrator and his crew. In this situation, the crew is discussing who should receive recognition for killing the enemy. Our narrator is clearly uncomfortable with this debate and makes the claim that since the ammo for ICM came from the Marines, they should also be held responsible for the deaths of the enemy troops. We see our narrator try to divvy up the blame for the death of the enemy troops to lessen his guilt. This debate along with the dialogue between our narrator and the old gunnery sergeant further
Thus, Lieutenant Cross is weak because he loved Martha, he was always distracted from the real world, and he always wished to return to his normal life not in the war. This will make him both physically and mentally weak, making him an easy target for enemies. This is how love may affect soldiers during battle. Therefore, I think that soldiers should not love when they are at war.
Kill or be killed by the enemy. When bullets are flying past his face and mortar shells are exploding all around him, he is not mindful of fighting ethically. Nor is he even mindful of fighting for his country. He is fighting for his life. To stay alive, he must kill the enemy, destroy the enemy.