Soldiers' Bodies
Today in class we talked about the ways in which dead soldiers' bodies were treated in the trenches during the Great War. Today, Combat Search and Rescue units enter combat zones to rescue or recover downed American personnel. These missions are difficult and often costly in terms of money and personnel. The question, then, is this: should the U.S. military put soldiers in harm's way in order to rescue or recover other soldiers? Why or why not?
posted by Crosby | 3:10 PM
8 Comments:
Okay, like I said in class today, I have NEVER EVER come close to experiencing something like this, and I'm not really planning on having to in my life.
I will agree that sometimes there is a time and place for dead soldiers to be sought after. What if the Commander of your unit had been killed in combat and you and the rest of your troops had to retreat before you could search for his body? How would it feel to leave your commanding officer behind?
The human mind is a very strange thing. The guilt we feel after leaving a horrible situation is something that is impossible to evade and ignore. If marines have been trained to "never leave a man behind", of course they are going to head back into a situation to recover bodies from their troop.
But, also, there are times when the safety of the living soldiers shouldn't be put at risk to save the bodies of dead men. If they're going to be blown to smithereens, then why risk the lives of perfectly healthy soldiers? But, I do believe that even though sometimes the situation may be radical, they will go back and reclaim the dead bodies because that's the way they've been trained for months and months while being in the military.
It's hard for me to decide which side to agree with for a few reasons. The main one is that I've never been in the position that the men who have lost a troop member. Another reason is the feelings of the family members of the dead person. If they want a body, respect should be shown and they should be presented the body of the dead soldier, afterall, weren't the family members the ones who supported the soldier all the way as he/she climbed to the standards of the military?(as in school and physical training ect.)
It all depends on the situation.
I believe that in the case of a soldiers dead body, and in certain situations like as in the Great War, then the soldiers stuck in trenches or other hard situations then they should be able to use the dead soldiers body as protection. The reason I believe this could be thought of as human would because that when the soldiers are under these such extreme conditions, then they maybe agree that the war will be to much for them to send the bodies back so I believe that a soldier would want to in this rare case, want to serve his country until passed his end.
I believe that soldiers bodies should be given the utmost respect since they died to protect us and our beliefs. Not used as a "Meat shield"-Richard in class. I understand that you are trying to protect yourself but the family of the dead soldier would be rather upset not "selfish"-Richard. The image of their body being hit by bullet after bullet would haunt you for the rest of your life. My grandfather fought in Vietnam and he watched one of his friends get shot and died. He tried hard to save him but he couldn't, and now he can't stop thinking about it.
I think that Austin brings up a great point that I've previously mentioned.
We cannot even imagine the hauntings of seeing your dead friend be shot over and over and over. But, then it goes to the question, is saving lives more important than people being haunted by grotesque memories?
I agree with what Austin had to say. If a soldier is willing to go out there and die for me, then they deserve respect. I can also see the other point, to use dead bodies to the living soldiers advantage. This is okay when it means life or death of another soldier but mutilation is out of the question. The dead soldier had a family and people who cared and loved them. If this ever happened to me I would be devastated. I would be glad that whoever my loved one was, was able to save others lives and die for their country. At the same time, I would want to have their body to lay it to rest and have that peace.
Please remember that you are to treat each other with respect when commenting. I will address this in class tomorrow.
Logically, it makes sense to use a dead body for another purpose, like they did in WWI in the trenches. However, since none of us have been in a situation like this, we don't really know what we would do. The psychological effects of seeing one of your close friends completely shot up and bloody because they were used to shield another from bullets would be extremely traumatizing. Think of how hard it would be to remember that image as the last time you saw your friend.
If you have ever known someone who died, you try to remember them at their best, not as they were right before they were about to die. When I remember by grandpa, I remember him drawing me pictures, not lying in a hospital. When I remember my cousin, I remember her talking to me and giving me advice, not as someone who was depressed.
I can't imagine having to remember my dead friend after he/she had been used as a shield for bullets. Having images like that in your mind could contribute to PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Even though using bodies for shields may be practical, in modern war, there are so many other options. In WWI, that course of action made sense, but now when there are ways to take the bodies back to America, that should be done if possible. Psychological effects to of situations can make a bigger impact in your life than people may think.
I am just going to say one thing, and that is: Thank you Richard for continually for bringing up controversial topics for our debates.
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