I’ve never served in war, and I was born during the Viet Nam War, so I really don’t have much experience with war, either serving or observing. (Eventually I’d like to ask my question to Iraq War combat veterans–I feel like that should be a separate thread.)
For those who served in combat, would you describe your war experience?
I’ve read many, many books about wars, but the one thing I have never had a grasp on is what soldiers do in any given length of time. Books describe battles, but I don’t know what percent of the day that takes up for a soldier. It’s almost hard to explain…
What percentage of your time was spent engaging the enemy?
How did you know what to do? Especially with wars from Viet Nam on back…technology wasn’t what is now. Communication about everything must have been very different from now. So what did you do, and how exactly did you know what you were supposed to do?
Can you describe maybe a typical month? Maybe none of it was typical?
How old were you? What was life like before the war for you? What was it like suddenly to be in a foreign country fighting in a war?
Especially for Viet Nam vets: Every movie and book and TV show about Viet Nam shows soldiers out on patrol. What was that like? How often did you go out? How often would you have to fire and/or how often were you fired on?
How do you deal with soldiers you know getting wounded and/or killed? On a psychological level, I would think that would be devastating. Thinking about it on an emotional level keeps me awake at night.
Really, anything else you’d like to add. I just would really like to get an idea of what past wars were like for individuals, not just the entire branch of service.
These are deeply personal questions…I thank anyone who feels like responding and respect anyone who doesn’t want to.
Ok…I just want to know what it’s like day to day for soldiers. Anything anyone provides would be very interesting. (And purely for my own interest. The older I get, the more I like to study history.)
I’m going to go ahead and recommend a book by a soldier friend of mine:
Curahee, by Donald R Burgett. Also, he has Seven Roads to Hell and some other books out. He was a paratroop in WWII, and the books are very descriptive about life int he military. It’s not ALL about day to day stuff, but you definitely get a feel for what life was like there.
Diaries may be the best bet all in all. I would say the earlier the war, the better. I would expect some coming out of Vietnam or newer were kept with the possible intention of publication – but you go say WW I and earlier, they were probably kept as personal journals and only published later at the request of others. Reenactors spend a lot of time reading over journals from the Rev War and American Civil War.
Hit your local library or historical society; they may have had some journals donated and just laying around for you to read and study.
As a thought, most vets that have “been there, done that” don’t really like to talk about the experieces. If you want to talk to some of those who don’t mind talking about their experiences, take a few dollars and go to your local VFW or Legion hall and buy a round or two. Ask your question politely, and you are sure to hear all about what they went through. Just an idea for you to consider.
My dad was a pilot in WWII. He NEVER brought it up. However, any time I asked, he answered. I learned so much from him. He did explain to me what they did day to day. Three days of abject boredom followed by six hours of pure terror.
Right. My dad and his buddies would talk a lot about WWII and Korea-about the chow, sadistic DI’s, the bugs, and various funny things that happened. It was very hard to ever get them to talk about real combat.
One of my heroes when I was growing up (he still is, although he’s passed away now) was my mom’s older brother. He fought from Omaha Beach all the way to Berlin. I heard him tell one combat story in the 50 years I knew him. My father-in-law was a truck driver in the Red Ball Express (keeping Patton supplied, if I remember the stories right.) He’d talk all day about being in training camps in Montana and California and about shipping over from New York; once he even talked about seeing a German 88mm shell blow a wall off of a brothel in France. But he would never talk about the grueling work of keeping Patton’s army supplied and hauling prisoners back to the rear. He’d just shake his head and change the subject. I had the same experience even when I was in the Army, serving with Vietnam veterans. They’d talk all night long about the bars, the whores, the stupid officers (and the smart ones) but I quickly learned to never ask questions about the boonies – that was off-limits.
Good luck – I like **giant marine’s ** idea – may even try it myself.