In the United States, soldiers are supported, encouraged, and seen as heroes, yet twenty-two veterans commit suicide every single day. John F. Kennedy said, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest form of appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them" (online). Soldiers leave everything they have to protect their country. They sacrifice the ability to see their families or eat a home-cooked meal, and some give their lives to war. Preaching appreciation and respect for soldiers is not enough if no action is taken to care for them when they come home. On June 14, 1775, when the Second Continental Congress created the Continental Army, twenty-seven thousand men volunteered and took an oath to fight relentlessly …show more content…
In the moment of trauma, the body produces excess levels of adrenaline that trigger its fight or flight response, but when the adrenaline wears off, the soldiers have to find a way to cope. The short story The Attack by Emil Lengyel portrays a group of Hungarian soldiers in the heat of a Russian attack during World War I and their reactions after the dust settles. Lengyel depicts the chaos of the grenades, guns, and all the men running around, just trying to keep one another alive. After the fight, they see their friends' remains lying on the ground, bodies in pieces, and brains exposed. Some of the men attempt to laugh it off and make obscene jokes, suggesting this is not the first time they have experienced such a tragic scene. Lengyel writes, “Many soldiers filled their bellies with extra rations of potato soup intended for their comrades who would never eat again." The harsh reality of war is that there is no time for soldiers to truly process and mourn because each day is a new day and a new battle. "This We’ll Defend," the motto of the US Armed Forces, displays a unique devotion and pride that rings in the hearts of every