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War, Combat
“War is a big and sprawling word that brings a lot of human suffering into the conversation, but combat is a different matter. Combat is the smaller game that young men fall in love with, and any...
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Something Noble about Human Beings
__________ You said earlier that your experiences in Afghanistan changed you — how? I mean, you know, I had the classic jumping at loud noises and stuff like that. Anyone who’s been in combat has a...
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The Soldier
If I should die, think only this of me: That there’s some corner of a foreign field That is for ever England. There shall be In that rich earth a richer dust concealed; A dust whom England bore,...
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Victory or Death
“It is a great stake we are playing for. Every virtuous citizen is depending on you to rid this land of the ministerial troops that have brought wanton destruction to its shores and is attempting to...
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On Being Asked To Write A Poem Against The War In Vietnam
Well I have and in fact more than one and I’ll tell you this too I wrote one against Algeria that nightmare and another against Korea and another against the one I was in and I don’t remember how many...
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How to Survive a Roadside Bomb: Sebastian Junger Escapes Death in Afghanistan
Later this week I’m going to type up a short review of Sebastian Junger’s remarkable book WAR. Before then, however, I want to introduce those of you unfamiliar with the text to a disturbing (and...
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“Does It Matter?” by Siegfried Sassoon
Does it matter? — losing your legs? For people will always be kind, And you need not show that you mind When the others come in after hunting To gobble their muffins and eggs. Does it matter? — losing...
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Douglas MacArthur: Will We Find an International Peace?
“Men since the beginning of time have sought peace. Various methods through the ages have been attempted to devise an international process to prevent or settle disputes between nations. From the very...
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Martin Amis: How Britain, Germany, and France Have Reconciled Their Roles in...
“Britain, I think rightly, derives a great deal of strength from its performance in the Second World War. Perhaps no other nation in Europe emerges from that war intact — either because of the...
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Meet Alexander the Great
“Most historians have had their own Alexander, and a view of him which is one-sided is bound to have missed the truth. There are features which cannot be disputed; the extraordinary toughness of a man...
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The Photographer Who Stormed Omaha Beach
“I would have to make up my mind and choose a barge to ride in… On the one hand, the objectives of Company B looked interesting, and to go along with them seemed a pretty safe bet. Then again, I used...
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When the Wealthy Fought on the Frontlines
“Glaucus, you know how you and I Have the best of everything in Lycia — Seats, cuts of meat, full cups, everybody Looking at us as if we were gods? Not to mention our estates on the Xanthus, Fine...
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How the Greeks Grieved
Menelaus, the head of the table, overheard And, speaking to both of them, had this to say… “I would gladly live with a third of my wealth To have those friends back who perished Far from the bluegrass...
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Glory’s Moonshine
“No one can deny I have done the State some service in the field, but I have always desired that strife should cease at the earliest possible moment. I confess, without shame, I am sick and tired of...
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Who Wants It More?
“The willingness to fight and die, to sacrifice for a cause, has often been vital in changing history. Napoleon Bonaparte remarked that in war the mental is to the physical as 3:1. George Patton...
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Dick Winters on Staying Disciplined under Pressure
“In an attempt to escape the tension that combat caused, I developed a heavier than usual exercise regimen and I attended church on a regular basis. There were only a few days that I didn’t run two to...
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Squaring off against Japanese Soldiers
“Unleashing unrestricted mayhem against fellow humans was contrary to everything I had been taught by my parents and Sunday school teachers, but I was forced to justify the decision to be a Marine and...
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