William Manchester was an American author and historian. Following in his father's footsteps, he served in the U.S. military as a Marine during the Pacific War. The essay was part-memoir and part-tribute, published in response to a memorial for the soldiers lost in the Battle of Okinawa. He reflected on the difference between how war is viewed by front-line soldiers versus everyone else. He wrote, "I could not reconcile the romanticized view of war that runs like a red streak through our literature... with the wet, green hell from which I had barely escaped" (Manchester par. 5). This initial horror slowly developed into an understanding - he realized he could never feel anything but hate towards war itself, but could still honor the friends he fought with.
The essay vividly described his experience in the battle of Okinawa. One paragraph of imagery was almost too graphic: "The mud beneath our feet was deeply veined with blood. Blood is very slippery. So you skidded around... fighting and sleeping in one vast cesspool. Mingled with that stench was another - the corrupt and corrupting odor of rotting human flesh" (par. 29-30). This quote barely even discussed the actual fighting, only the surrounding circumstances, yet it was able to hit me right in the gut. It made me feel just a little bit of what he and the other soldiers must have felt. So he did his job of both admonishing and educating the general public that war is far from glorious, as well as providing fellow soldiers with statement to reflect upon.
The essay vividly described his experience in the battle of Okinawa. One paragraph of imagery was almost too graphic: "The mud beneath our feet was deeply veined with blood. Blood is very slippery. So you skidded around... fighting and sleeping in one vast cesspool. Mingled with that stench was another - the corrupt and corrupting odor of rotting human flesh" (par. 29-30). This quote barely even discussed the actual fighting, only the surrounding circumstances, yet it was able to hit me right in the gut. It made me feel just a little bit of what he and the other soldiers must have felt. So he did his job of both admonishing and educating the general public that war is far from glorious, as well as providing fellow soldiers with statement to reflect upon.
Although the essay was a bit confusing at first, with an organization that was almost chronological but not quite, it made an impact. One sentence effectively used an antithesis: "they sacrificed their futures that you might have yours" (par. 38). This quote struck me as the exact reason why we honor veterans and lost soldiers, whether by building a monument or writing an essay.
 |
| The "Cornerstone of Peace" is a monument dedicated to the remembrance of the Battle of Okinawa and the soldiers lost in the battle. More than 200,000 names are inscribed on the monument. (Source: Flickr) |
No comments:
Post a Comment