Smedley Butler: War is a Racket
Yes, that's a classic. The Things They Carried is another classic.
They carried their own lives.
They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die.
Grief, terror, love, longing.
They carried shameful memories.
They carried the common secret of cowardice barely restrained -
the instinct to run or freeze or hide - this was the heaviest burden of all;
it could never be put down; it required perfect balance and perfect posture.
They carried their reputations.
They carried the soldiers' greatest fear - the fear of blushing.
Men killed and died because they were embarrassed not to.
It was what had brought them to war in the first place.
Nothing positive, no dreams of glory or honor;
just to avoid the blush of dishonor.
They died so as not to die of embarrassment.