Into the Valley of Death, by Patricia Johnson

The word "war" has had negative connotations for centuries.  In almost every person from every culture, it conjures up images of dead bodies and blood, feelings of fear, anger, and pain.  Junger's article gives readers a personal spin on these universal responses to war.  The soldiers he interviewed and filmed told him their stories, displayed to him their terror and their fatigue, and allowed him to film the chaos of battle.  The details that he documents give readers a tiny window into what it must be like to sweat, cry, and bleed for one's country, without assurance of a homecoming.  Homer, in the Iliad, accomplishes a similar feat.  His intricate descriptions of each warrior's death or victory, along with descriptions of their weapons and armor (this also parallels Junger; starting on the first page, we learn about the soldiers' heavy body armor and machine guns) make the listeners feel as if they are standing next to, or possibly within the warrior as his liver is ripped out by a Trojan's spear, or as he slashes his sword across an Achean's throat.  In both the article and the epic, the extraordinary detail, given without holding back any gory description or uncomfortable reality, illuminate the horrors of war for those who may never have experienced them.

It is true that the type of warfare differs between Afghanistan and Troy.  The Trojans and Acheans had to rely on their own personal strength and weapons and face each opponent individually.  This made both their fear and their warrior pride rise and fall in sharp, contrasting dips.  The Americans in Afghanistan, however, have machine guns, mines, planes, and helicopters than can kill many without the operator of the weapon ever having to personally face his victims.  I am not saying that this makes them less of a warrior than the ancients, simply different.  They also must compensate for their advantage over the ancients with their constant fatigue and disillusionment with their commanders' goals (as opposed to each ancient fighting for his own glory) that the ancients do not seem to deal with (as often).  Even through the differences in technology, values, and methods, the details of grief and remembrance over fallen comrades, the self-endangerment for another warrior's body, and the disgust and horror over bloody details rings the same through the ages and through both piece's words.

They are so similar...

...it is difficult to claim progress.