Rumor Of War DBQ Essay

As someone who hasn't experienced the situation of being in a war zone how does one judge the actions of a soldier. It is obvious as to why men who come back to war are traumatized by what they had seen and done for the sake of their country. To some extent patriotism and society is to blame because of the loyalty a soldier feels towards their country, fighting for a cause that protects their families. Getting caught up in the cause is understandable, actions that are unreasonable for certain situations, soldiers should take accountability for.
Its understandable for soldiers to lose touch with reality while at war but to justify murdering people so violently, soldiers should take accountability for. The Lai Massacre is an example, when American soldiers should up to a Vietnamese village and destroyed it, “rounded up and murdered hundreds of civilians- mostly women, children, and old men- in an extremely brutal fashion...” (Source A). What is the purpose for the killing of civilians who don't partake in the war. War is a hard time but to torture people for no reason, is not justifiable. This compares to the “rules of engagement” described …show more content…
For example in Rumor of War by Caputo there is a moment when two soldiers, Harris and Olson, of the same troop begin the go back and forth about killing each other, “‘Olson you shitbird, I gotta automatic rifle pointed at your fuckin’ head. All I gotta do is give a little trigger squeeze and I’ll blow your head off.’” (Source E) Harris killed Olson. Soldiers become numb to idea of what it means to actually take someone's life and war setting is blame for this. When fighting in the war, killing someone is considered normal which in turn Also there is the idea of being at war in a foreign country, secluded, and not living a normal everyday life could be responsible for soldiers losing touch with reality, and that reality is feeling emotion for others and