| "And I'm saying the common grunt doesn't give a damn about purposes and justice. He doesn't even think about that shit. Not when he's out humping, getting his tail shot off. Purposes - bullshit! He's thinking about how to keep breathing. Or he wonders what it'll feel like when he hits that booby trap. Will he go nuts? Will he puke all over himself, or will he cry, or pass out, or scream? What'll it look like - all bone and meat and pus? That's the stuff he thinks about, not purposes." (Going After Cacciato, p. 178). | When soldiers are "humping the boonies," they rarely think about the greater cause that they are fighting for. Even though war really has no purpose, once a man becomes involved, he no longer cares about what the objective is. He just wants to stay alive. |