Ambrose, Hedges, Kudo, And Styron: Article Analysis

A response to Essay’s on section 1 of syllabus The essays by Ambrose, Broyles, Hedges, Kudo, and Styron collectively discuss War in varying contexts, highlighting the effects both before and after war. Some articles intersect on the supporting the idea of another, while others clearly hold opposing views.
Despite of the differences, one prevailing theme present in all of the articles is the development and reinforcement of comradery. Due to the nature and demands of military life, every author discussed an inevitable bond shared within a group of men that grew to the point of unquestionable sacrifice. For example in, “We Wanted Those Wings”, Ambrose describes the bond basic training brought for an aspiring elite company of airborne light infantry, he states “ The result of these shared experiences was a closeness unknown
to all outsiders…They would literally insist on going hungry for one another, freeing for one another, dying for one another”.
In addition to comradery, the articles particularly, by Ambrose, Broyles and Hedges highlight other positive qualities that men in war experience such as finding meaning and enjoyment. For example, Broyles states, “Part of the love of war stems from its being an experience of great intensity; its lure is the fundamental human passion to witness, to see things, what the Bible calls the lust of the eye… War replaces the difficult gray areas daily life with an eerie, serene clarity”. Broyles discusses the “hidden” aspects of war, wherein men take pleasure in the work in they do, without moral considerations. Hedges also talks about war serving as a distraction from routine and proving purpose. According to Hedges, in war there is a clear agenda where we know exactly
what is trying to be accomplished, therefore “filling a void”. He specifically, provides an example of a Serbian war victim, Ljiljana, who was reminiscing on her days back in Bosnia; even though she lived a difficult life, Hedges states “Peace has again exposed the void that the rush of war, of battle, had filled”.
On the other hand in, “War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning”, Hedges also talks about the negative aspects of war such as justifying and aiding the deaths of many innocent people. He particularly discusses the trying role that war plays in life of a solider both prior to and post war in the statement, “The very qualities that served him in battle defeat him in peace”. Additionally, the personal conflict of a solider is one that Kudo discusses in his article, specifically on morality. In sharing his own experience in Afghanistan Kudo calls for identifying the root “moral injury” as a way of tackling the long-term effects that it has on veterans.
The authors, Kudo and Hedge and Styron share different views than those of Ambrose and Broyles in the sense that they look at the “human” aspect of war. Kudo and Hedge acknowledge the moral consequences of war while Styron provides the most persuasive account of war in “Rat Beach”. Styron like Ambrose and Broyles converge on their accounts of training and working in unison with their comrades. Ambrose and Broyles specifically show the solider passion for the meeting the requirements of war. However, Styron differs in that his account seemed more realistic because he was less “robot like” and shared his true fears and personal shortcomings, in anticipation for the invasion on Japan. He was a solider in battle that was waiting to know if he too would end up like another solider in an ambulance.