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I hope you didn’t get the impression I was throwing that on you, or even on others on this thread.

Personally, I am not “anti-war” any more than I am “pro-war”. I believe that war is often necessary, and when it is, it should be prosecuted.

As for whether I “love” war or not, I am sure there are many people who would look at the things I say in life, and where my interests lie, and think that I am a “war lover”. I think that would be understandable, but it would also be wrong.

I grew up as a military dependent of a career naval officer, and spent four years in myself. I have a pretty extensive library of books, and am somewhat a student of military history.

War is unique in the way that it forces all the good, love, gallantry, devotion, loyalty and talent that man is capable of into the exact same time and space as all the terrible negative things we are capable of, the abject cruelty, wanton destruction, blood lust, prejudice, waste, knavery, deceit, you name it.

All of these diametrically opposed things placed into the same crucible to be ground together, and what comes out of it is the ruby jewel that the balance wheel of history pivots on.

All the great things in history, and all the terrible things.

So, I do find it fascinating, as most people who take the time to consider it likely would. (some can’t, some won’t, and some are too lazy and uninterested)

I once read something a Vietnam veteran said (and I have to paraphrase it here because I don’t have the book anymore): “When I was in Vietnam, the only thing I could even think of was going home. I wanted to go home so badly I dreamt of it, I could feel it, I could almost taste it. But when I got home, the only thing I could think about was going back. I missed being somewhere where things mattered, things were important. I was important to the men around me, and they were important to me. I loved them like brothers, and they loved me. When I got back home, nothing was important enough to matter. Over there, we were geared up, armed to the teeth, and nobody messed with us. Back here, we didn’t mean anything to anyone. I felt completely lost and meaningless.”

In my job (medicine) I have had the opportunity to meet many veterans, and had the opportunity to spend several hours at at time with them each time due to the nature of my job...there was a lot of dead time to fill with conversation. I was privileged to speak at length with them, and while very few of them discussed details of their combat service, most were more than willing to discuss the state of the military, political implications, and various aspects of military life. And I get the impression from my conversations with them that even though their time in combat may have been relatively short, that time acted like a gate in their lives where everything was one way before, and another way after. Most of them also would not trade the experience, and were universally proud that they were able to do their job, but did express they would never want to go through anything like it ever again.

With all that, it does bring to mind General Lee’s famous quote: “It is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it.”

Speaking for myself, as I have said, I am not anti-war. But universally, in all accounts of war, once it has started, very few of those involved in it wish for anything else other than to have it end, so I think jumping in with anything other than the most compelling of circumstances is not a good idea, and wishing for it to happen, well, one should always bear in mind to be careful of what one wishes for.