I'm not American, but such is the power of the internet that I could hardly miss the fact that it's Memorial Day in the US and, for some reason, the various posts I've seen on the subject reminded me of this song. It's a handy reminder, I think, that not all battlefield casualties happen on the battlefield, or even at the time of the battle. And not all injuries are the obvious ones to flesh and bone.
I strongly suspect that what Ira Hayes suffered from would, these days, be called combat stress reaction (more commonly known as combat or battle fatigue) or post traumatic stress disorder. And it's a sad reflection on the human species that we've been waging wars for thousands of years, yet even with all the experience that's provided of such afflictions, until very recently his condition would have been dismissed as cowardice, if still serving, and denigrated as "unmanly" if it cropped up later in life.
Here's Johnny Cash.
—Daz
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[…] the glory of war, we sometimes forget the price. I want to thank to thank Daz for his remarks on one of these […]
I’m glad I saw this before I finished my post doing essentially the same thing. I included a link to this post from mine.
Thanks Daniel. I liked your other choices, too. And I learned summat along the way. I’d previously thought And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda was original to the Pogues.