I have always been a semi-serious student of history.
Reading of battles such as Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal, Okinawa etc. makes me wonder how we produced such men. It was not just us either. The Japs and Germans, Russians and Finns. All one has to do is read about the Battle of Stalingrad to realize that we were not the only ones.
I also wonder if I could do what they did. If ordered to charge by General Pickett at Gettysburg would I be able to do it? My Mother’s Grandfather charged Union lines 3 times at Chickamauga before breaking through. They were thrown back twice but did it on the third try. I am not sure I could do that.
I met a good amount of German vets when I was stationed over there and they had that same toughness that our guys had. It seems that the tough guys left in America are the over 45 crowd. The CSA had some of the greatest fighting spirit of any army ever fielded.