"I Am Sorry That It Has Come to This": A Soldier's Last Words

Originally posted by Miracula

Originally posted by GrimReaper86
reply to post by johncarter

 

If your going to kill yourself anyway, why not attempt to go against your orders and potentially start a mutiny if necessary to do so, worse comes to worse you die in the attempt or face jail time, which a life in prison at least might be better then the apparent mental anguish he went through.

Why not throw your life away in a more dignfied, justified way?

This is the part I don't get. Why would he be in mental anguish if he disobeyed and order to kill women and children, non-combatants.

I saw a nutcase in Glenville WV while I was attending college and he indicated what crime against God he committed to deserve his punishment.

A girl delivered a bomb or something like that while he was in Vietnam and he killed her with a grenade. She didn't know what she was doing.

Killing children during combat with premeditation will result in serious mental hell that will last a lifetime.

edit on 26-6-2013 by Miracula because: (no reason given)

edit on 26-6-2013 by Miracula because: (no reason given)

I think you don't get it because you're looking at this as if he hadn't done any of these atrocities yet, that he was choosing to not do them and killing himself was the way to avoid it. this isn't the case, however, he has already done these atrocities and cannot bear the weight of them anymore leading him to kill himself to end the guilt and emotional baggage those things leave behind. He didn't disobey the order that caused him to be like this, but now he felt this is what he had to do.

Originally posted by swordsandpens

I think you don't get it because you're looking at this as if he hadn't done any of these atrocities yet, that he was choosing to not do them and killing himself was the way to avoid it. this isn't the case, however, he has already done these atrocities and cannot bear the weight of them anymore leading him to kill himself to end the guilt and emotional baggage those things leave behind. He didn't disobey the order that caused him to be like this, but now he felt this is what he had to do.

That makes a lot more sense. But then why not simply serve your time and get out. Simply say to yourself that you didn't know that the military inadvertently kills civilians while hunting the bad guy. Fact of life about combat, especially urban warfare. It's messy.

reply to post by johncarter


You can't blame parents for being patriotic

As heartless as this may seem, (And I certainly do not intend to be so) I couldn't help but see as I was reading this letter, some dread locked anti war guy in a hemp sweatshirt writing the words War crime and crimes against humanity, and then taking a shot at the DEA with relish. The letter reads (to me) politically motivated. And im not taking anything away from it if it is real. This was clearly a tormented soul If it indeed was the last words of a man before he shot himself. And my condolences go out to his family.

But READ A BOOK! War is #ing nasty! No one ever comes out of it feeling good and I think we sent the wrong people to do the job. We entice kids with bright futures and educations ahead of them with money and free rides and then drop them in a # storm they never imagined, while turning down our snakes and criminals and people who might flinch a little less at atrocities which will undoubtedly be occurring in ANY WAR PERIOD. We should be recruiting for this stuff out of our prisons and giving people second chances to find themselves and maybe earn back some of their honor but instead we send young men with bright futures to be psychologically destroyed.

Originally posted by Alatloc
reply to post by johncarter

 

You can't blame parents for being patriotic

Explain how killing innocent people in far away lands in wars of aggression can be considered patriotic.

Joining the US military is anti patriotic - it is anti life, it is anti human - only those who resist the rise of the evil empire of America, and the evil empire of the EU are patriots. To fight for what is right is to resist empire, and to raise weapons against the so called rulers of the west.

This resonated with me on the deepest level. My father was also a veteran forced to commit horrible war crimes, and ended his life in 2007. Not often that an ATS post will make you weep. RIP.

Never mind, not even worth it.