There is only two types of enemy soldiers that I wouldn't shoot, one that's already dead and one that has laid his rifle down and has his hands as high in the air as he can get them. If he lowers his belows his elbows below his skull, I'll kill him.
Cold hearted? Bet your ass I am. I've never wept over a dead gook but I have wept over too many dead Americans and I am still angry about it thirty years later.
I never suggested that for one minute. Read the whole post again. I'm saying that the guys that deserve some consideration are those step up to the plate and perform this duty for their country.
Look, I've had more than one good friend who couldn't quite shake the fact that he had pulled the trigger on another human being. One guy was a Silver Star recipient. Every single one of the bad guys that my friends killed deserved to die - no exceptions. These guys are proud of their service and woudl do the same thing every time. They love their country.
That doesn't necessarily mean that killing is a pleasant task. That's all I'm getting at. Some guys don't like to talk about it because it revives the spectre.
I'm overjoyed that we got these guys before they did any damage to U.S. troops. Just go back to my original post: this isn't necessarily pleasant work... especially when you know exactly how a 30mm cannon affects the human body.
That's all man.