Monday, March 11, 2013
Lifeline
Read the story of Brendan O'Byrne and author Sebastian Junger. Junger said he wanted to answer the question, "What gives men the courage to fight and die for each other?" At the end, he says, "Courage is love. It’s a result of your affection for another person...It allows men to overcome their fear and inherent revulsion to kill another person."
So after reading Junger's thoughts in the book and this article, answer the question on what gives men courage to fight and die for each other! What do you think about the courage of O'Byrne both in war and civilian life? Also comment about the courage of Junger himself.
Give this thought and respond by Monday, March 11, 2013.
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I believe it is love that gives one the courage to fight for the person/s they love. When you're passionate about something and care about it, your instincts push you to go for it. O'Byrne had the courage to help defend the country. When fighting a war you make friends quickly but you can lose them just like that. And these guys have to wake up the next day and shoot more people. O'Byrne felt a lot of guilt other than the loss of friends. But instead of drinking the pain away he needs to find the courage to live with it and fight for his life like he fought for the country. If you can survive the war itself, you can survive after the war.
ReplyDeleteFor Junger, it took some level of love and courage to take care of a person in a vulnerable state like O'Byrne's. I thought it was nice of him to be a friend to O'Byrne since he didn't have to let him in his home drunk off the street. That's what a good friend does though, they will try to understand and help you out however they can. Junger has witnessed what sort of traumatic experience O'Byrne has been through and can see how much pain he's in. I'm sure it's harder than I can even imagine. At war I have no idea how they can be so brave, but that what makes people respect them, I suppose they can get something positive out of it. Not enough to make me join however. In the regular world, I think that if you genuinely care about someone enough you will fight for them and not give up.
- Megan Taylor
In my opinion, (and I do not know if I am wrong or right because I have never fought in a combat situation such as men like O’ Byrne have, and O’ Byrne himself may not even know) the reason why men summon the courage to fight, kill, and die for one another is because they learn to love and care about each member of their unit as if they were a family. Thus, it is not training that gives men courage nor is it what to do in a split second decision that gives men courage but it is the mentality that if I go down I would expect, no I would know, that one of my brothers would not hesitate to come pick me back up. At some point the brotherhood among these men becomes so concrete that they don’t think about saving one another they just do it whether they realize it or not. Spending day after day in the harshest conditions, being shot at, and confused it is each member of the unit that acts as glue to hold everyone together especially in the darkest of times such as when they lost Restrepo.
ReplyDeleteO’ Byrne demonstrated more courage in five minutes of being in Afghanistan that most people do in a life time. Simply the courage to enlist was huge enough. In war O’ Byrne had to deal with the loss of friends who he became so close with. He saw unimaginable things that most people can’t bear to see. Therefore, O’Byrne gave his past, present, and future to his country because it is nearly impossible to return to his normal life (past) his present is clouded by the fact that at one point “killing someone was the highpoint of” his day, and without Junger he had no future because war was all he knew. As far as O’ Byrne’s courage at home there is no difference. O’ Byrne had the courage to admit he needed help and to ask for the help of his friend, Junger. He admitted that he needed help and rightly so after all he believes that “God Hates Me.” Thus, the courage to say that he needed help was extremely commendable.
Junger himself also demonstrated courage by laying his life on the line to get the truth about American Soldiers out to the public. Junger wasn’t in the journalism business to sell what people wanted to hear but to tell them what they weren’t hearing; that everyday men lost their lives to keep us safe. “He was a legitimately good dude who really wanted to tell our story and not demonize us” O’ Byrne said of Junger. “The truth- that’s what was important to him.” Therefore the courage and commitment to do the right thing and not take the easy way out to make a quick buck at the expense of soldiers was noble in itself (not to mention the fact that they put spiders in his bed.)
---Nick Palumbo
Although I do agree on your viewpoints regarding O’Byrne’s courage and Junger’s courage, I would have to respectfully disagree with your comment stating that, “it is not the training that gives men courage.” I believe that the training is an integral part of what gives the men their courage. Yes, the camaraderie between each and every soldier is immensely important, but the training they receive is what ultimately gives them that push to go to war. The courage that the men summon to get themselves to go to war is completely different than the courage they receive from the sense of family. The training hardens them for the trials and tribulations of war. They need this training to bring themselves to even set foot on enemy soil. They may have some sense of brotherhood while training, but it is not to same degree as when they are deployed for combat. The courage from the brotherhood is built off of the initial courage they gain from their training.
DeleteHowever, I would like to agree with you when you say, “nor is it what to do in a split second decision that gives men courage.” These split second decisions are the byproduct of their courage. These are the manifestations of that sense of brotherhood they all feel. The decisions are a display of courage, not a source of it.
Thank you Chrisvan although i do question why you needed to reply rather than create your own response none the less you had some nice little thoughts bud
Delete---Nick Palumbo
The reason men have courage when facing war is love. When the soldier relizes that its not just him that is feeling the anxiety it brings them closer together. The essentially become a family. The soldiers know that the brotherhood they feel between themselves and others is the same for all soldiers. They will risk there life for eachother because they know their brothers would do the same. Knowing that they are all in it together makes their love for eachother grow until it is almost unbreakable. O'Byrne shows us no matter how strong you make this bond between you and your virtual family, war ends up getting in the way. O'Byrne blames himself for the death of his comrades. Saying that it is "your" fault for the death of your brothers takes an enormous emotional toll that noone can fully comprehend. When he came back to the states O'Byrne went to a life of drowning his sorrows in acohol. Luckily Junger was able to renew O'Byrne's courage from the war. However this new courage came in a different form. Instead of the courage to die for your brother-in-arms he gained the courage to see his own problems and fix them. This courage that Junger instilled in O'Byrne reflects the courage that he himself has. In the war you help your brother. Junger carried this thought of always help your brother back home until he could use it on O'Byrne. Courage is a crazy thing. It makes some people do amazing things in their life. O'Byrne and Junger are great examples of this.
ReplyDelete-Colin Krohto
After reading “War”, watching clips from ‘Restrepo’ and reading this article from the Army Times, it is clear to me that Jungar believes that what gives men courage to fight and die for each other is simply love. Courage cannot be taught at boot camp or explained by any sort of military training. A soldiers’ sharp instinct combined with this courage and bravery is something that is completely elective. It is love that makes a man fight for his country and gives him the great courage to not let one of his brothers down. The article concludes with a quote from Jungar: “Courage is love. It’s a result of your affection for another person. It allows men to overcome their fear and inherent revulsion to kill another person.” This love and brotherhood induces these soldiers to fight for each other. We are shown an example of this in Restrepo when Sal Giunta puts his life on the line to kill an enemy soldier who is dragging away the body of one of his comrades. Sal Giunta was recognized with a Medal of Honor, but this demonstration of courage happens frequently on a daily basis. Soldiers will risk their lives for each other because they can rely on their fellow comrades to do the same. I think that this love, trust and brotherhood show an unbelievable level of selflessness on the soldiers’ behalf. I think that O’Byrne demonstrate courage during war but I am unsure if he demonstrated courage in the beginning stages of his civilian life. He did not deal with his PTSD, instead numbing the pain and fogging the memories with alcohol. However, I believe that after conversing with Jungar, O’Byrne began to become more courageous by dealing with his alcohol addiction, understanding PTSD and helping others through the after-math of the fog of war. I believe that Jungar is very courageous. He has established himself as a well-known war correspondent. He has been making trips to Afghanistan since 1996 to find out truth/answers and get news firsthand. He put his life on the line just to share these soldiers’ stories. He spent over a year with combat troops in the Korengal Valley to film Restrepo and used his time spent in the Middle East to write books such as ‘The Perfect Storm’ and ‘War’. It takes a great deal of courage to spend time in a war-torn country to truthfully and accurately portray the lives of soldiers.
ReplyDelete- Jillian
Men get the courage to fight from the love for each other, the bond they share is like family, they need to have something to fight and kill for and the men who are their brothers are what they use to get the courage. The training they get does help them but if they are put in a life and death situation no amount of training can save them they have to have the courage to fight for themselves and the other soldiers. You cannot teach bravery and the soldiers must want to fight for the others and not just run if they ever are put in a situation like that. I believe O’Byrne is a courageous person. Not only on the battlefield but in life, he always was there to protect his brothers and also he laughed and joked with them to make being in war a little better. Even in his life when he gets home he has so many problems but he doesn’t give up and he gets over it. Then he goes on to help others. He knows what he was doing in war and he kept doing it because of the love he has for the men. Then when it comes to Junger he didn’t even have a gun but only a camera and he made it through war and knows exactly what it feels like to be shot at but he knew it was worth the stories that he would make known to the public. Also when he got back he was willing to take some of the baggage from O’Byrne and help him get back on his feet after the war. Both of these men showed true courage in war and on the home front.
ReplyDelete-Pamela Whatley
What gives men the courage to fight is their compassion for their fellow soldiers and people that they know. A big reason for this is due to the sheer amount of stressful things that the soldiers go through together, and it helps them to connect and to come together as a family. The reason this is such an important thing is because you are much more likely to fight for your family than just some guy you work with. O'Byrne shows us that no matter how strong this bond is though, war is capable of affecting you. Taking responsibility for the deaths of your "family" takes a toll on someone emotionally. This was a issue for O'Byrne, and to cope with it, he tried to drink his problems away. Junger was able to talk to his friend and recreate O'Byrne's feeling of love that he had for his friends in the war. The biggest show of this courage at home is shown in O'Byrne's willingness to admit that he needed help. Junger also kept this idea of always helping your family, and helped his friend O'Byrne. In the end, these values of having courage because you love your family is an important thing these men have, and it clearly sticks with them for a long time.
ReplyDeleteNick DeGennaro
I agree with Pam and Collin, These men share a bond that not the average person can understand. They love each other so much they will die for their brother out on the feild of war. Courage doesnt go to everyone the biggest of men could be the most scared. Courage comes from the bonds of your brothers and being out in war, O'byrne has experienced this an is a couragous person in battle and in civiliain life. No doubt he was a great soldier and fought with courage. And in civilian life he was able to see his probelms and instead of sitting and dwelling on them he went out and changed him self for the better. And to me that is one of the most couragous things you can do, amit defeat and better your self at the same time. That is why I think that O'byrne is a very couragous person.
ReplyDeleteTommy Janicki
Love is what gives men the courage to fight and die for one another. Men in war grow such a strong bond with the other soldiers that they are deployed with since they are going through the same situations. As the time goes on they obviously grow closer and closer. It would clearly come to the point of brotherly love where you would do anything for them, just like you would do anything for the people that you love back home. O'Byrne is a very courageous man, any person who decides to go to war is courageous. It is un imaginable how anyone can loose someone that they loved and continue to be shot at and to shoot the next day. He continues to fight for his love of America, and for the other men in his platoon, which is the most courageous that you can be. He also demonstrates his courage when he comes home after deployment. Clearly it was very difficult for him when he came back home. He numbed all the pain and tryed to repress all his memories with alcohol, but he was able to pull through with the help of his fellow brother Junger. Now O'Byrne is helping others with the struggles he faced which also takes courage. Junger is also a courageous man because he put his life on the line to get the truth out to the American people, and to tell the real unbiased story of the soldiers. He knew the American people needed to know what was going on, and set out to make sure they did which I believe is very courageous.
ReplyDeleteGilisa Paternina
The reason men are able to risk their lives for one another is love. From what Junger has observed when he was with these soldiers is the only reasonable info on why soldiers have courage to die in war for there comrades is why I agree with him. The courage he has during the war seems pretty common because in most of those restrepo clips you could see that about half of them pretty much didn't know what they got them selves into until they were actually there. One of those soldiers was O'Byrne who didn't show courage of any kind during the war except of course being there. When he got back home it is definite to me that he had no courage because even though I had no combat experience it shows something when a soldier comes back with ptsd and another doesn't. Even though he didn't show it right away i believe O'Byrne had courage after facing his problem and going to rehab as well as understanding ptsd and helping others with it.Though O'Byrne took a while to show courage another person is Junger. Junger was just a journalist but for what he reported he showed courage. He was just a reporter who followed these men into war just to get their stories which shows courage. War is a problem in this world we live in but the more soldiers we see come back alive, with or without ptsd the better it would be for this country.
ReplyDelete-Jesus Garcia
I would have to agree with Junger that what makes men die and fight for each other is love. When these men and women are deployed overseas their brothers in arms are their family. They also need to rely on each other because one slip up and it could cost alot more lives than just yourself. Obyrnne also had courage off and on the battlefield. Not only was he fighting the taliban but he was also fighting an alcohol addiction that originated from the PTSD. Junger is also courages because he takes obrynne into his home and even after obrynne spends jungers money on more alchol he still helps him. Obyrnne also has enough courage to make it through rehab. Wether or not youre on the battlefield soldiers and even civilians can still be courages.
ReplyDeleteBen Guyette
What gives soldiers the courage to fight and kill in war is the need to protect the man standing next to them who over time they have developed a kinship with that they are willing to die over. They love eachother like brothers and in the heat of battle can only focus on protecting themselves and their "brothers", there need to protect the men who are serving with them overrides their need ot protect themselves. This love of their fellow servicemen is what turns them into good couragous soldiers.
ReplyDelete-Sarah Kennedy