4 ms·
War is horrible, and fought for very stupid reasons - at least on one side, and often both. That said... this guy joined the ROTC because it got him out of gym
by AnimalMuppet 2y ago
War is horrible, and fought for very stupid reasons - at least on one side, and often both.
That said... this guy joined the ROTC because it got him out of gym class in high school. That put him on the path to being a lieutenant in WWII, for all the wrong reasons. Sure, it's a crazy system that makes a person like that a leader of soldiers in the first place, but I also don't consider him likely to be a clear-eyed observer of it all.
I mean, the horror he experienced is real, and he describes it eloquently. The larger picture... that's where I don't trust him so much.
- pjc50 2y agoA personal account is by nature personal. The historians are there for big picture. > it's a crazy system that makes a person like that a leader of soldiers in the first place You go to war with the people you have available, few of whom are ideally suited to it.
- sdwr 2y agoHe talks at the beginning about how people who saw the larger picture with clear eyes escaped the front lines: > shrewder friends were enrolling in Navy V-1 or signing up for the pacific exercises of the Naval Japanese Language Program or the Air Corps Meteorological Program
- eleveriven 2y agoWar leads to significant loss of life. It's horrible indeed.