RE: Ike on war...
November 1, 2019 at 9:26 am
(This post was last modified: November 1, 2019 at 9:35 am by The Grand Nudger.)
(November 1, 2019 at 9:01 am)BrianSoddingBoru4 Wrote: And why would a man who claimed to hate war spend almost his entire adult life as a soldier?
Can't speak for Eisenhower, and it's worth noting that his rehabilitation hinges on a later claim he made - as is so often the case with politicians......but...
I'd have stayed in the service, hating war...because I felt deeply committed to and fulfilled by peacekeeping and humanitarian missions. I think people forget that the US military is the largest and most competent relief organization the world has ever seen. Even more fundamentally, I liked to imagine that what we really wanted in the service were people who truly wished to avoid conflict. If the choice of leadership and personnel is between a bunch of bloodthirsty Cleti and a natural pacifist...well.
It's at least possible that Eisenhower felt something similar, that he contextualized his service in light of what good he'd accomplished or what conflict he'd avoided or minimized...rather than his body count. Soldiers are as complicated and fuzzy as anyone else. There's definitely truth in the notion that no one can detest war like a person who's been disgusted by it, and their participation in it, first hand.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
