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Abstract
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Passionate and consuming motives are not the original incentives to enlistment. Once in the army, the soldier finds out that the military life is a hard one. But he still feels that he is "doing his bit," and that the experiment is worth while regardless of all the unpleasant features. He lives for the day when he will go "over there." With the arrival at the front, there is at first a reckless curiosity, but the intensity of fear becomes focused into the strife for self-preservation. Most soldiers become fatalists, because their experiences negate the idea they had of God and goodness. Contrary to popular conception, the average soldier does not hate his enemy. When a soldier is on leave of absence, all his civilian scruples look insignificant to him. This is his moment of freedom and perhaps his last chance to enjoy life. Suddenly the war is at an end and the soldier returns home much grayer, older, and more critical of the conditions at home. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)
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