Military Review English Edition November-December 2015 | Page 127

MORTALITY NARRATIVE

the fallacy. He said only
good soldiers die; the
enemy cannot kill a bad
soldier.8 There is a morbid principle here. After
the first “good soldier”
dies, his or her comrades
quickly lose their sense
of invincibility. Wellintentioned rhetoric
tying skill or obedience to
one’s chances of survival can lead to cynicism
among those who witness
its falsehood.
The second theme
proposes that medi(The Storming of Ft Wagner, lithograph, Kurz and Allison, circa 1890)
cal science can rebuild
The 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was one of the first official black Union Army units
wounded, injured, or sick formed during the U.S. Civil War. The regiment gained national and international attention when, on 18 July
soldiers. It extols the qual- 1863, it spearheaded an assault on Fort Wagner, South Carolina, taking heavy casualties. The unit had among
its ranks many former slaves. Its battlefield valor at Fort Wagner and elsewhere established a precedent and
ity of U.S. battlefield trau- legacy for recruitment of additional black units to fight slavery and preserve the Union.
ma care and the confidence that it can provide.
To Rise Again
The U.S. military’s medical evacuation and treatment
The second and third immortality narratives—ressystem is truly unparalleled. According to the U.S.
urrection and the soul—are suitable for combination
Army Office of the Chief of Public Affairs, the medical
into a single discussion. Both are central doctrines for
evacuation survival rate in Afghanistan in 2012 was
most religions, and each promises a continuation of life
92 percent.9 This achievement through the disciplined
in some far future or other realm of existence.10 The
application of science and technology is phenomenal,
religious contex و\