The quote, “War is hell!” is attributed to General William Tecumseh Sherman while addressing the graduating class of the Michigan Military Academy. The text below contains this famous quote in context:
I’ve been where you are now and I know just how you feel. It’s entirely natural that there should beat in the breast of every one of you a hope and desire that some day you can use the skill you have acquired here. Suppress it! You don’t know the horrible aspects of war. I’ve been through two wars and I know. I’ve seen cities and homes in ashes. I’ve seen thousands of men lying on the ground, their dead faces looking up at the skies. I tell you, war is Hell!
As our soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan can attest, this statement is still true today.
It appears to me that Gen. Sherman was attempting to warn the cadets that what they've were told about defending their country was less than true. The notion that soldiers are joining a noble cause, are performing their duty, will be remembered with the heroes throughout history who have fought and perhaps given their lives for freedom, is, in reality, a lie.
Perhaps what I've just stated has raised the hackles of some of you, and so, before I continue, I want to assure all of you that this is not a rant against the government, the military, or patriotism. Give me a chance to explain myself.
My initial point is that if recruiters were as honest about war as Gen. Sherman, it would be more difficult than it already is to fill the ranks with young men and women who are willing to “take that hill” when directed to do so by a commanding officer. What happens instead, is that recruiters, in order to meet their quotas, tell recruits, in addition to twisting their patriotic arms, that the government will reward their bravery with a free education, and continued care for those injured in the fighting. I'm not willing to go so far as to say that all recruiters are liars, but the truth is that the military cannot deliver on their promises.
Because of the “advances” we have made in war technology, we are able to fight better, without nearly as many casualties. The press likes to remind us of the carnage of war by keeping us updated on the Iraq Coalition Forces losses (currently over 4000). In Sherman's war (the U.S. Civil War) it is estimated that 620,000 soldiers died. The result, however, is that soldiers that previously would have died from the wounds inflicted, are now disabled and needing medical care for the remainder of their lives. These wounded are overwhelming the system, and our “heroes” are having to defend their right to the services they were assured would be theirs. If a soldier fails to take the initiative, they are ignored.
This doesn't even take into account the servicemen and women who will live the rest of their lives with the psychological damage done from the horrors they have experienced and witnessed. Many of these will never recover. I wonder if it's even possible to prepare for, or treat the results of what Sherman called “hell”.
So what am I saying? “War is bad. We need to end the war.”? Yes. But not how you think.
Another quote attributed to Sherman:
You cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; ... I know I had no hand in making this war, and I know I will make more sacrifices to-day than any of you to secure peace. But you cannot have peace and a division of our country. If the United States submits to a division now, it will not stop, but will go on until we reap the fate of Mexico, which is eternal war. The United States does and must assert its authority, wherever it once had power; for, if it relaxes one bit to pressure, it is gone, and I believe that such is the national feeling.
I'm not suggesting that war is right and good, and neither is Sherman. What he is saying is that there is no way to fight a “nice” war. If you choose to fight, the only right way to do it is to use all of the resources available to you to end the war as quickly as possible by overcoming your foe. And where an army does this to administer justice and rid the world of tyranny, I believe they do it as ministers of God.
For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. (Romans 13:3-4)
For this reason, I believe we do owe a debt of gratitude and a measure of honor to those returning from the fighting. Even if you disagree with the decision to go to war, you should be able to appreciate the courage required to risk your own life for the sake of another. Isn't there an identification with our Saviour in this?
I believe we are loathe to do this, however, because our soldiers and their accompanying disabilities are a reminder to us of our inability to live peaceably with each other, and of the ugliness of our actions.
For those of you who have chosen “the way of peace”, and have refused to go to war, consider at least that because there are many who are willing to volunteer, you (or your sons and daughters) don't need the courage to say, “No.” to war, you merely need to avoid saying, “Yes.”
And if you believe, because of your piety, you are better than those who use physical force to get their way, consider how many spiritual lives have been lost because those who profess to follow “The Prince of Peace” fail to live in peace.
From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. (James 4:1-3)
The writer of these words knew that physical wars are just the outworking of the war going on in our hearts. The seed of war is the desire to have what is not ours, and the willingness to obtain it at the expense of others.
Refraining from fighting does nothing to obtain peace. Peace requires action. It requires loving your enemies, returning good for evil, offering the other cheek, going the extra mile. It requires giving, when it was yours to take.
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