I suppose I do. I think it is a mistake for anyone to think that he himself is above such feelings and even actions. I refer you to a scene described in WITH THE OLD BREED by E.B. Sledge, whereupon he comments on page 120, "Such was the incredible cruelty that decent men could commit when reduced to a brutish existence in their fight for survival amid the viloent death, terror, tension, fatigue, and filth that was the infantryman's war".
i just remember the kids with napsacks walking past fried and necklaced former Macoutes...or folks so accused
and remembering the old Ton Ton Macoute legend ..uncle napsack....”The phrase “Ton-Ton Macoute” is actually a phrase in Haiti, meaning “bogey man” (literally: “Uncle Bagman”) in the Haitian language. “Ton-Ton Macoute” was the name Papa Doc Duvalier used for his secret Police, who wreaked havoc in Haiti in the 1950’s. The “bogey man” of Haitian folklore refers to a man visiting during Christmas Eve, entering peoples homes at night and taking naughty children into his knapsack”
“WITH THE OLD BREED by E.B. Sledge
Gene Sledge was a family friend and one of my professors. I took several courses in biology in classes that he taught.
I never knew what he had been through or even that he fought in WW2 until he published his book. He never even alluded to it.
In class he used to say “OK folks, let’s fall back, regroup and press on with renewed vigor.” I assume it came from his military days.
He was an excellent teacher, and a “Gentlemans’ gentleman.”
Reading his book is horrifying to say the least, but paints a picture of war that is hard to forget.