User blog comment:Griever0311/Ask A Marine/@comment-1260687-20100315223416

@Imrlybord: I've seen some shit to be sure, but I always did the right thing, and never shot anyone that didn't have it coming. I sleep fine at night; I think the key is merely adopting a different viewpoint that the vast majority of society, and perhaps seeing things with a little more clarity - recognizing that under some circumstances violence is not only acceptable or necessary to survive, but the only logical, just action that a sane mind can decide as a course of action.

@Iish0227: My favorite book of all time is "Fields of Fire" by James Webb. It presents a historical fiction account of a platoon of Marines during the Vietnam war, and deeply explores the sociodynamic interactions that led a number of the principal characters to enlist in the first place, as well as providing a hard-hitting, realistic view of the psychological effects of war on the personnel as individuals and as a unit, while illustrating some of the dark ironies of sacrifice and war bonds that takes the entire book to set up. The way the story is told is so perfect that I could recommend it to any civilian who wants an inside look into the psyche of a combat Marine.