Martyrs--A Worthy Sacrifice?

I noticed something interesting as I was reading "The Sorrow of War" on pages 192 and 193. On page 192, after the story of Hoa's sacrifice and subsequent rape, the author begins to discuss the concept of martyrs. Ninh writes, "But for Hoa and countless other loved comrades, nameless ordinary soldiers, those who sacrificed for others and for their Vietnam, raising the name of Vietnam high and proud, creating a spiritual beauty in the horrors of conflict, the war would have been another brutal, sadistic experience." This statement seems incredibly off-putting, especially since the reader has just been presented the story of a woman who allowed herself to be raped in an isolated patch of jungle so that her fellow wounded soldiers would not be discovered; ironically, none of the soldiers even bother asking Kien about her fate. This random burst of patriotism seems to belie the horror of what has just happened--is rape not "brutal and sadistic" in and of itself? Or can it be seen in the "larger scheme of things" as a brave and noble sacrifice, since after all, Hoa's sacrifice ensured the safety of a cluster of wounded men?

On the very next page, however, Ninh writes, "To win, martyrs have sacrificed their lives, in order that others might survive. Not a new phenomenon, true. But for those still living to know that the kindest, most worthy people have all fallen away...then this beautiful landscape of calm and peace is an appalling paradox. Justice may have won, but cruelty, death, and inhuman violence have also won." Through this perspective, Hoa's sacrifice is seen not as a glory-inducing act of heroism but becomes an almost resentful act-- something that will serve as an eternal reminder of the human cost of freedom. This passage acknowledges that martyrdom is a "brutal and sadistic" act in and of itself because far from giving the war a sense of "spiritual beauty," martyrdom only highlights the moral horror that for every survivor of the war, countless others were killed.

This must be part of the reason why Kien has such strong survivors' guilt. The sense of loneliness one must have after surviving multiple imminently dangerous situations has to be intense and psychologically overwhelming. Here is a link that attests to the fact that today's military is little different; soldiers' problems have not changed much from WWI to Vietnam to Iraq.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/04/18/survivors-guilt-haunting-military/