Johnny's Got His GunFollow

http://www.latimes.com/la-fg-killing18jul18,1,1755382.story

With all the talk about having a President that has had military service, do you think that having experienced killing people you don't even know is a good thing?

Do you think that soldiers can live normal lives after going to war?



Edited, Tue Jul 20 19:26:42 2004 by pickleprince

Sorry, I didn't relaize that you had to register. It didn't make me.

What I know is the first time you see a friend fall beside you, the world changes.


It changes back after the tenth or so.

Except that by then you're bitter and hollow.


Hey, there's a lot to be said for being bitter and hollow!

Chicks dig it.

I personally think, that military service should be mandatory. I spent four years in the military, and I am a student of war. I love to read military history, and the various accounts of those who survived and those who didn't. I think my understanding, or at least study of it gives me a completely different perspective on those who have not studied it.

First off, those men and women who served during war time are heroes! You can't say they are killers. Yes, they had to kill. Sometimes you are only given two choices, to kill or to survive. These people put their lives on the line so we can continue to live free. If it wasn't for them we wouldn't have the freedoms we enjoy. It still irritates me at the way people treated our Vietnam Vets. It is also one of the reasons we lost. Morale will kill a soldier as surely as a bullet will. The lack of support from the home front is what killed more troops that bullets.

Yes, they may never completely recover from war. They may never completely work back into society. Our job as civilians, is to support those people and make their transition back into to society smoother. You may not support the war, but you damn well better support the troops! They are worth a hell of alot more than the rest of us!

No, he just waited till they were dead. They didn't fight so much for him then.

Yes they can, some back ground.

My father was an infantry solider in Korea then in the Special Forces for several tours in Vietnam. He carried a rifle in Korea and Vietnam, spent most of his time in the feild in combat. The fact is he killed a LOT of people during those conflicts.

Did he have trouble adjusting to non-combat life? Sure, but he made the adjustment and lived happily ever after. He's still with the same wife and loves her dearly, has six kids (3rd son is the best IMHO :) ) and retired from two 20+ year careers. One in the army and the other from a missile defense firm, he’s now one of the driving forces behind reviving my parents neighborhood church. All in all the man’s still sharp at 73 and is in better shape than I.

The problem is that we as the public don’t get bombarded with images of men and women returning from combat and picking up their lives. We get hit with the image of people flaming out across the board, must make better TV or something. I’ve met some of my father’s war buddies, a bunch of normal old men who led exciting lives. Some have orderly lives, some don’t.

I’m not saying that no one fails at adjusting, only that blanket statements about the subject don’t hold up.

Zium

There I rated you up you pickle ******* freak....
Stop whining


As a military man myself I only care that you support me. After all I am fighting for your right to have your own opinion. So to tell you what I think your opinion is would be stupid. No one I know likes to kill people, but they are shooting at you and that tends to change your view about shooting back

No. the link didn't work for me.

I just added my two cents about serving.

Bwa-ha-ha-ha!!!

Did your Aunt Jemima serve in the WACKS(sp?) in the Phillipines?