Statistics have shown that mortality increases perceptibly in the military during wartime.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Unfortunately, in war, there are casualties, including among the civilian population.
When you go to war as a boy, you have a great illusion of immortality. Other people get killed, not you... Then, when you are badly wounded the first time, you lose that illusion, and you know it can happen to you.
Obviously, the greater the length of a war the higher is likely to be the number of casualties in it on either side.
I think that some of our soldiers die in the battlefield and some come home to bad health and die prematurely, just by the nature of the kind of business they're in.
The most interesting statistic, stunning statistic that came out of my research was that in 1942, as this war production effort is going on, the number of Americans killed or injured in war-related industries surpassed the number of Americans in uniform killed and wounded in action in the war by a factor of 20 to 1.
Marines dying or being seriously wounded is commonplace in combat.
I think on civilian casualties they could do more. It's actually something I've discussed with the editors involved. They're aware of it, and I'm hopeful that there will be more reporting on that.
Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war.
I don't think so, but it's always in the back of my mind that many of the soldiers being wounded and killed in Iraq are about the same age as my kids. My godson is going over soon, so the war's about to get personal for me.
Every civilian's death diminishes us, collectively.