War Kills Us

Mae Wong

Section 1

Week 5

What is the meaning of war? It brings peace between two countries with conflicting ideas, but did anyone ever thought about the mentality of the soldiers and the civilians? In the article, “Empire of Death and the Plague of Civic Violence”, Darrell Y. Hamamoto, it gives small stories of soldiers that were involved in the Vietnam War. Soldiers came back to the states as serial killers. They were killing and raping innocent race-specific civilians. It was their “fantasy” and desire to kill more. So did the war bring good for all? No, it did not. It made things worse because the war is brought back to the home country and the home country has to deal with their consequences of being involved in a war. More innocent civilians are ruthlessly murdered due to the failure of politics between 2 clashing sides. Innocent soldiers’ mentality changed from fighting for their country to killing more of their “enemies” whenever they see one in the states. 

It is shocking how veterans mentality changed rapidly from fighting for a cause to struggling to leave that mindset. It makes me wonder if some of the homicide cases we see on the television are caused by veterans. This article brings forth another shadow of the aftermath of war. I never knew about the homicide cases caused by veterans. Now, I think about the importance of Veteran's day because people think of it as a day of barbecuing with their family than the real importance of recognizing the service of soldiers. Soldiers suffered many ways after serving in the war and they should be respected for their service.

Why do we need violence to end a war?