You and the Military

Student Reading 1:
Who's in the military and why do they join?

by Alan Shapiro

Army: 402,150 (16% women)
Navy: 314,083 (14% women)
Air Force: 282,304 (19% women)
Marines: 155,038 (6% women)

Three of every five soldiers are white. Two out of every five are black, Hispanic or other ( Asian, Native American or Pacific Islander).

Black women now outnumber white women in the Army (46% black, 38% white).

The Navy has the highest percentage of Asians, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders (9%).

The Air Force is significantly more white (75%) than the other services.

There are more Hispanics in the Marines (13% of the men, 16% of the women) than in any other branch of the services.

Electrical/mechanical or electronic equipment repair is the job that more men have than any other (32%).

Administration and support is the job that more women have than any other (34%).

But there are men and women, whites, blacks, Hispanics and others who are in the infantry or gun crews, who fly planes, who are medical or dental specialists, who are service and supply handlers and who are in support groups or administration. Over the years since World War II, the military has become the most successfully integrated institution in American society.

But it is not exactly representative of America. There are proportionately more Blacks and Latinos in the military than in the society as a whole. The wealthy and the very poor are under-represented in the military. And on average, those in the enlisted ranks are better educated than their civilian counterparts and have higher reading scores.

All of the people in the U.S. military services today are volunteers. Why did they decide to join? Here are some answers:

Specialist Markita Scott, a personnel clerk in the Army:
"I am learning a skill. I get a lot of papers that are not correct, and so I know I'm helping the person."

Rain Silva, a medic in the Army:
"I joined to get education and experience. It looks good on your resume. I needed time away from school. I wanted some adventure."

Sargeant Yao Benie:
"The American Army is working for humanity, for the welfare of the whole world. When I go back to my village, many people gather. They are very proud of me."

Lt. James Baker:
"Artillery is exciting. I get to blow a lot of stuff up and play in the woods. The Army is the biggest team sport in the world."

Many of those just back from Iraq feel a sense of accomplishment. Others have had to think again about their careers. Some, like Sargeant Kenneth Bortz, an infantryman, have mixed emotions: "I feel good for what I did, but out there, that's when you really think about what you want. And in Baghdad, I knew the Army wasn't for me."

Staff Sargeant Ray Robinson was driving a Humvee in Baghdad on security duty when he ran over a mine and was blasted through the windshield. He suffered shattered feet, legs torn by shrapnel, a scorched face and arm, and a broken eardrum. Operations have saved his feet, but after 16 years in the Army and National Guard, his military career is over. He believes in what the U.S. is doing in Iraq: "We can't lose this. It'll all have been a waste....If we pull out now, I got blown up for nothing."

Sources:

The statistics at the beginning of the reading come from the Department of Defense's Population Representation in the Military Services, as reported in the New York Times, 3/3/03.
All quotes are from the New York Times (3/3/03 and 9/12/03).

For Discussion

1. Why do you suppose the military services are better integrated than any other institution in American life?

2. Why do you suppose the wealthy and the very poor are under-represented in the military?

3. Which of the reasons for volunteering expressed by the soldiers makes the most sense to you? the least? Can you think of other reasons why someone might want to volunteer?

You and the Military

Student Reading 2:
Should you join the military?

Let's say you're a high school student and have been thinking about what to do when you graduate. Your family doesn't have the money to send you to college. You don't think you have any special abilities. What kind of a job can you get? Maybe serving up burgers or pizza. Maybe packing bags at a supermarket. But then what? And besides, you'd like to travel, have a chance at some excitement and then get more education so you'd have a shot at a better job. How?

You see a commercial on TV. Or you think of an older cousin. Maybe you hear a talk at an assembly in school. And it hits you. The Army! You check out an army website, and this is what you read:

"What is the U.S. Army? It's having the individual strength and support of an unstoppable team. It's you at your best with training, technology and support. You will become stronger, smarter and better prepared for the challenges you face. You will gain invaluable skills, experience and the opportunity to use them while working in a challenging environment." (GoArmy.com)

This looks like the answer to your problem. You read further and see how easy it is to get into the Army, how attractive Army life seems, with its opportunities to play sports, to have holidays, to travel. Of course there's basic training and maybe going overseas and being in a war. But this would give you a chance to do something for your country, to protect it and defend its freedoms. You read about all the benefits you can getóenlistment bonuses, college credits, loans, money for college, preferential hiring for jobs after you finish a stretch in the Army.

The Army offers enlistment bonuses of $1,000 to $20,000 to qualified candidates for active Army enlistments of two or more years as well as educational bonuses of $8,000 towards a bachelor's degree. As much as $14,000 in extra pay is available to those who volunteer for active duty, especially in such high demand positions as Explosive Ordnance Disposal Specialist, Infantryman, Cannon Crewmember, and Multiple Launch Rocket Systems Crewmember. The Air Force, meanwhile, says you might get an enlistment bonus of up to $18,000 and have a shot at over 150 careers.

But questions are being raised about this bonus system. Consider an Army recruit in Texas who enlisted for four years in the infantry on April 22, 2005, and received a $20,000 bonus. Yet a few weeks later another Texas recruit who also enlisted for four years in the infantry received no bonus. The reason offered by the Army is that it uses its bonus system for immediate needs.

Some figures on enlistment bonuses the Army paid between October 2004 and June 2005:

• 6% of the 47,727 people who enlisted for active duty received $20,000.
• 12% of those signing up for the infantry, one of the Army's most dangerous and largest occupations, received $20,000.
• More than 25% received no bonus at all.
• The rest of those enlisting in the infantry received amounts ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 and averaging $9,264.

Despite Army advertising that "qualified" soldiers receive up to $70,000 from the Army College Fund, fewer than 10% of all recruits receive any money. Additionally, bonuses are received over several years and are taxable.

These differences in bonuses and in money for college can lead to bad feelings. "David Segal, a military sociologist at the University of Maryland, said that disparities in compensationÖundermined cohesion among troops as they move up the ranks. 'Once they start hearing that someone got a better deal,' he said, 'soldiers get angry.'" (New York Times, 8/15/05)

The armed services look too good to be true. So like anything that looks too good to be true, maybe you should ask some good questions and get some good answers before you make up your mind.

Here are some the American Friends Service Committee suggests you ask (www.afsc.org):

1. "Will enlistment help me achieve my goals?"
What, exactly, are your goals? Think hard about them. Discuss them with friends and family. Be as specific as possible. Maybe even write them down. If for example you'd like a chance at further education, consider that according to AFSC, "The military's money for education plan is not as easy as it sounds. It is only after you leave the military that you find out whether you've met all the requirements. The largest amount of money mentioned is offered only to those GIs who take jobs the military has a hard time filling." As for job training, the military can't give you guarantees. You might not get the kind you expect and your training may not be right for a civilian job you want.

2. "Am I trying to escape my own problems?"
The main thing is not to make an important decision when you're upset and unsure about what to do. "Don't enlist unless you're sure," AFSC advises. "If you change your mind after you join, it's very hard to get out."

3. "Am I willing to give up control?"
The military makes decisions about your life, not you. And enlistment means it will make major decisions for you for at least eight years, including time in the reserves. A lot can happen in that time. Right now, for example, National Guard members and reservists have had their tours of duty in Iraq extended.

4. "Am I willing to kill and be killed?"
Your answer may be a quick yes, and you may be right. But you could find yourself in a situation or a war you think is wrong. Once again, you can't quit.

5. "Do I have other options?"
And have you considered them? School counselors, nurses, and social workers may have ideas and connections for job training or to help you get money for further schooling. So do various community organizations like unions and employment agencies. There is also a lot of information available in libraries and on the web.

Probably the most important things you can do are to:

• read everything on the websites or in printed material closely
• get answers to your questions
• talk with recruiters, family, and friends
• think very hard about what you want to do before making a final decision

For Discussion

Divide the class into groups of four to six students for a discussion of the following questions:Should I seriously consider joining one of the armed services? Why or why not?

In a go-around of the group, each student should have the opportunity to answer these questions briefly. Then ask students in each group to engage in a general discussion, writing down any questions they think it would be important to answer. The group should name a reporter to summarize its discussion and questions for the entire class.

Most of the questions, if not answerable by students, can probably be answered by an examination of the websites of the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Marines, and the American Friends Service Committee. Note that in its section on "Alternatives to the Military," the AFSC website suggests or provides links to many other sites.

Students might volunteer or be assigned to find answers and report back to the class.

Can students think of questions other than those in the reading that someone considering the military should ask? Write them without comment on the chalkboard. Then have students subject the questions to analysis in the manner suggested in the The Doubting Game section of "Teaching Critical Thinking" on this website. Finally, consider with students how each question might be answered

You and the Military

Student Reading 3:
What are Army recruiting methods
and why are they meeting opposition?

The Army announced in June 2005 that it had missed its recruiting goal for the fourth consecutive month. The Pentagon said at the same time that the Army National Guard, Army Reserve, Navy Reserve and Air National Guard also missed their goals for sending new recruits to basic training. And the Marine Corps, for the fifth straight month, missed its contracting goal to sign recruits for future basic training.

According to the New York Times, one result is that "the Army is having to turn to more high school dropouts and lower-achieving applicants to fill its ranks, accepting hundreds of recruits in recent months who would have been rejected a year ago, according to Army statistics." The Times quotes David Segal, who directs the Center for Research on Military Organization at the University of Maryland: "The overall quality of the force today is lower than it was a year ago. It means they can anticipate more problem situations with recruits in the training cycle." (New York Times, 6/11/05)

New Army rules also make it easier to retain pregnant soldiers as well as those who abuse drugs and alcohol or have committed minor crimes.

"CBS News has reported that from asking teens to lie to their parents to guiding them through duping the drug-test system, recruiters will go to many lengths to get young people to enlistÖ.Each Army recruiter must enlist two people a month into the serviceÖ.Army officials said last week they have investigated 480 allegations of impropriety by recruiters since Oct. 1Ö.Eight recruiters have been relieved and another 98 have been admonished."

In May 2005 the Army suspended recruiting efforts for one day "to allow commanders to emphasize ethical conduct and 'refocus our entire force on who we are as an institution,' said Maj. Gen. Michael D. Rochelle, the chief of Army recruiting." (CBSNews.com, 5/20/05)

In addition to recruiting shortfalls for enlistees, the Army is also running short of National Guard and Reserve soldiers, many of whom have been sent to Iraq and whose tours of duty are ending. About 35% of U.S. troops there are such soldiers.

What is happening and why?

The U.S. is in its third year of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Almost daily come reports of the deaths of American soldiers. Roadside bomb explosions are the most common cause, especially in Iraq, but there are also firefights, snipers, suicide bombers and attackers with grenades in both countries.

By the end of August 2005 the American death toll in Iraq had exceeded 1,870. Since there is no end in sight to U.S. combat in Iraq, there is no end in sight to the lengthening list of dead soldiers, not to speak of the much greater numbers of Iraqi deaths. A lower level, but still deadly, insurgency continues in Afghanistan.

At the same time organizations and parents, teachers, coaches, and other youth advisors in some high schools have begun to challenge military recruiters. The spark is often the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. This Bush administration legislation, intended as a school reform measure, includes Section 9528, the "Armed Forces Recruiter Access to Students and Student Recruiting Information."

The U.S. Department of Education states that all high schools receiving funds under the act must "provide military recruiters the same access to secondary school students as they generally provide to postsecondary institutions or prospective employers. For example, if the school has a policy of allowing postsecondary institutions or prospective employers to come on school property to provide information to students about education or professional opportunities, it must afford the same access to military recruitersÖ.[The high school] must provide notice to parents of the types of student information that it releases publicly. This type of student informationÖincludes such items as names, addresses, and telephone numbersÖ.

"Additionally, Section 9528 requires that parents be notified that the school routinely discloses names, addresses, and telephone numbers to military recruiters upon request, subject to a parent's request not to disclose such information without written consentÖ.The notification must advise the parent of how to opt out of the disclosure of directory information and the method and timeline within which to do soÖ.Schools that do not comply with Section 9528Öcould jeopardize their receipt ofÖfunds." (www.ed.gov)

In May 2005 the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico filed suit against the Albuquerque Public Schools "for failing properly to notify parents of their option to prohibit public schools from directly sending their children's contact information to military recruiters. The ACLU charged that the school district's current practices violate students' privacy and due process rights, as well as provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind Act" The ACLU argued that "at a time when people who enter the military face the very real prospect of going into battle, parents should have the right to control what the U.S. Department of Defense knows about their children and how easily they can recruit them to become soldiers." (www.aclu.org)

At about the same time, Seattle college student demonstrators walked out of classes and marched on recruiting offices; the Garfield High School Parent Teachers Student Association (also in Seattle) passed a resolution banning military recruiters from its campus, jeopardizing $15 million in federal funding.

In Cambridge, Massachusetts, several hundred college and high school student protesters appeared at a 230th birthday celebration of the minutemen's opposition to British troops in 1775. Some wore white T-shirts with words hand-lettered in red declaring, "You Can't Bribe Us to Die" on the front and "You Can't Bribe Us to Kill" on the back, referring to Army enlistment bonuses. (www.alternet.org, 6/16/05) Parents in Whittier, California, complained that their school district had not informed them of their right to "opt out" of any release of information to military recruiters. The district has since introduced a check-off form for parents to do so.

Representative Mike Honda, a California Democrat, has introduced legislation (HR 551) that would prevent military recruiters from getting student information unless students and parents first gave permission. (For details, see his website, www.honda.house.gov.)

Counter-recruitment activists at a meeting convened by Educators to Stop the War are organizing two weeks of counter-recruiting activities from Sept. 12-24 in selected New York City high schools, culminating in demonstrations at recruitment centers on September 23.

"Mothers and fathers around the country said they are terrified that their child will have to be killedóor killóin a war that many see as unnecessary and without end," the New York Times reported. "Around the dinner table, many parents said, they are discouraging their children from serving." Said one parent: "The point is not whether I support the troops. It's about whether a well-organized propaganda machine should be targeted at children and enforced by the schools." (New York Times, 6/3/05)

In an article critical of military recruitment efforts, New York Times columnist Bob Herbert wrote, "Recruiters with a gift of gab go into the schools with a glamorous pitch, bags full of goodies for the kids (T-shirts, donuts, key chains) and a litany of promises they often can't keep. The kids don't hear much about their chances of being maimed or killed, or the trauma that often results from killing someone elseÖ. It is highly questionable whether most high school kids are equipped to make an informed decision about joining the military, which is exactly why they're being targeted. The additional knowledge and maturity gained in the first few years after high school make it easier for a young man or woman to make a wiser, more meaningful choice, pro or con." ("They Won't Go," New York Times, 6/13/05)

For Discussion

1. What questions do students have about the reading? How might they be answered?

2. What quotas must Army recruiters meet? As it has become more difficult for them to meet quotas, what recruiting tactics have drawn criticism? Why did the Army suspend all recruiting efforts for a day in May?

3. What are the No Child Left Behind Act regulations for military recruitment? Why has the application of the act drawn protests? In your high school, have parents been informed they have the right to deny personal information about their children to recruiters? If so, how? If not, why not?

4. Do you agree with Bob Herbert? Why or why not? How equipped do you think you are "to make an informed decision about joining the military"?

You and the Military

Student Reading 4:
What are the Army's New Recruiting Strategies?

An excerpt from a handbook published in September 2004 for Army recruiters working in high schools provides some insight into their current recruitment methods. (The excerpt was published in Harper's Magazine, June 2005.)

"The School Recruiting Program (SRP) is an important part of an integrated recruiting-prospectingÖprogram that ensures total market penetration. The goal is school ownership that can lead only to a greater number of Army enlistments.

"Recruiters must first establish rapport in the school. Once educators are convinced recruiters have their students' best interests in mind, the SRP can be effectively implementedÖ.

"Know your student influencers. Students such as class officers, newspaper and yearbook editors, and athletes can help build interest in the army among the student body. Some influential students such as the student president or the captain of the football team may not enlist; however, they can and will provide you with referrals who will enlistÖ.

"Obtain copies of the sports and activity calendars. Arrange to have the schedules copied with the Recruiting Station address prominently displayed. Post them in restaurants, arcades, and anywhere else students congregate.

"The football team usually starts practicing in August. Contact the coach and volunteer to assist in leading calisthenics or calling cadence during team runs. Offer to be a timekeeper at football games.

"Most communities have labor Day parades. Obtain a tactical vehicle and drive it in the parade with your future soldiers riding along.

"Contact first-year college students to see if they returned to school. How is their second semester financial situation? Generally, attrition during the first year of college is higher than in subsequent years and occurs especially at the midterm grading period, at the end of the first semester, and again at the end of the second semesterÖ..Focus on the freshman class, because they will have the highest dropout rate. They often lack both the direction and funds to fully pursue their education.

"As the month before elections, October is a great time to give presentations to school history and government classes about the electoral process and how the army serves a vital role in the security of our nation.

"Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday is in January. Wear your dress blues and participate in school events commemorating this holiday.

"February: Black History Month. Participate in events as available.

"Contact the seniors in the early spring. The end of their lives as high school students is approaching fast. This is the time reality sets in. For some it is clear that college is not an option. If you can make the appointment for a sales presentation on the first contact, then do so.

"Maintain close contact with your future soldiers."

But military recruiters are interested in more than contacting students at their high schools and colleges. They are reaching out big time during the Nextel Cup season, Nascar's most important racing series, which travels from city to city. The Army alone is spending $16 million on Nascar this year, including $9 million to sponsor a race team. The other branches of the Armed Services also sponsor Nascar drivers and set up recruiting stands at race events.

The Army provides Nascar fans with a free interactive display that includes a rock-climbing wall, a pit-crew challenge where fans can compete as they change tires, and video games featuring combat on an imaginary street where Arabic writing appears on the walls of buildings.

"It's an opportunity for them to touch and feel the Army, to give them a real Army experience," said Col. Tom Nickerson, who is in charge of the Army's recruiting outreach program. Guy Morgan of Keystone Marketing Company, which operates the displays, said that they produce 1,000 to 2,000 leads for potential new recruits on each racing weekendónearly 40,000 leads a year. Fans aged 16-39 who want to visit a display must fill out release forms with personal information and their signatures.

Megan MacDonald, a visitor at a Michigan display, "is planning to go to college but said she is considering the military. The display, including free dog tags, got her attention. 'It's pretty cool,' MacDonald said. The Army will have more opportunity to sway her. The card she signed with her personal information will be added to a large database and sent on to a local recruiter." ("In Bid for Recruits Military Has Allies in Nascar and Fans," New York Times, 7/2/05)

A number of private contractors are working through the Pentagon's "program for joint marketing communications and market research and studies (JAMRS)" to help the military fill its ranks. The Department of Defense, for example, with the aid of a private group called BeNow has created a database of millions of teenagers to identify potential recruits. A group called Teenage Research Unlimited (TRU) says it offers many methods for getting inside kids' heads.

Although access to the JAMRS web portal is restricted, reporter Nick Turse (on www.tomdispatch.com) writes that according to the site, the military is pursuing the following strategies to increase the number of volunteers:

• Hispanic Barriers to Enlistment: a project to "identify the factors contributing to under-representation of Hispanic youth " in the military.
• College Drop Outs/Stop Outs Study: a project "aimed to gain a better understanding of what drives college students toÖ'drop out' and determine how the Services can capitalize on this group of individuals (ages 18-24)."
• Mothers' Attitude Study: "This study gauges the target audience's [mothers of 10th and 11th-grade youth] attitudes toward the military and enlistment."
• Moral Waiver Study: Its stated goal is "to better define relationships between pre-Service behaviors and subsequent Service success." But, Turse writes, this study also explores "the means by which potential recruits with criminal records are allowed to enlist in the U.S. military."

Another JAMRS partner is Mullen Advertising, which, Turse reports, "works with JAMRS on array of marketing communications, planning and strategic initiatives. Mullen develops both offline and online advertising campaigns aimed at steering youngsters towards the armed forces. For example, the site suggests that you ask your guidance counselor "about taking the ASVAB Career Exploration Program," but does not mention that this is the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, an admissions and placement test for the U.S. military.

Recently, the Leo Burnett advertising agency won a $350 million contract with the Army for a recruitment campaign "to publicize the wide range of career opportunities and skills the Army offers recruits." (www.leoburnett.com) The campaign does not say anything about being sent to Iraq or Afghanistan.

For Discussion

1. What questions do students have about the reading? How might they be answered?

2. Examine closely the excerpt from an Army recruitment handbook. How would you describe the recruitment strategy? How would you evaluate it? What meaning do you give to "total market penetration"? the focus on student leaders? on first-year college students? on Dr. King's birthday and Black History Month?

3. What criteria would you use to determine whether or not someone had your "best interests in mind"?

4. Why do you suppose the military have focused on Nascar race events rather than on, say, college football games for a major recruitment effort?

5. What is JAMRS? Do you think your name and information about you are in this database? If yes, do you have any objection? Why or why not? What do you think of this Pentagon effort?

You and the Military
Suggested Classroom Activities

Citizenship

If military recruiters visit your school, consider involving students in action projects. For example:

• Have students ask recruiters for an interview. What do they plan to do in the school? How? Do they intend to focus on particular students groups? If so, which ones and why? What do they tell these students? Do they inform students about the possibility of their being maimed or killed? What do recruiters say on this subject? How successful have they been in their recruiting efforts in other schools? What do they think about their work? If possible, videotape one or more interviews as well as recruitment activities.
• Have parents been informed that they can choose to deny recruiters information about their children? If so, how? If not, why not?
• Propose a PTSA meeting to discuss the pros and cons military recruitment of high school students. Suggest a school-wide meeting on the subject for the community as well as for students, teachers, administrators, and parents. Invite speakers who will present multiple points of view. Show any videotapes to promote discussion.
• Have students prepare a report on all aspects of any project work and distribute it to students, parents, and others in the community.

Writing

Make the following essay assignment:
Why I will (or won't) consider joining the military.

Guest speaker

Invite a speaker from one of the military services and from an organization that offers suggestions for alternatives to the military (for example, the American Friends Service Committee, the War Resisters League--warresisters.org, Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors--objector.org) to address the class and to answer its questions.

Inquiry

Divide the class into two groups, both of which are to study the websites named above. Ask Group 1 students to find and write down every reason they can find or think of to support volunteering for military service. Ask Group 2 students to find and write down every reason they can find or think of to oppose volunteering for military service. Speaking with family and friends might also be useful. Schedule class reports and discussions to consider the pros and cons.

Literature

Students considering the military might profit from reading some of the powerful literature that has been written about war. Among the celebrated novels are Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage (Civil War); Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front (World War I) and Norman Mailer's The Naked and the Dead (World War II). Non-fiction includes John Keegan's The Face of Battle; Ernie Pyle's Ernie's War (World War II) and Chris Hedges' War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning (recent wars in the Balkans, Central America and the Middle East).

Over the centuries, poets have expressed a range of attitudes toward war and the military. The following three poems are a sample:

How Can Man Die Better (excerpts)

Young men, stand firm and fight, stand one by other;
base retreat and rout let none begin.
Be high of heart, be strong in pride of combat;
grapple, self-forgetting, man to man....

Grown men regard the young, women desire them--
fair in life, in noble death still fair.
Be steadfast then, be strong and firmly rooted,
grip the ground astride, press teeth to lip.

--Tyrtaeus (ancient Greek, translated by T.F. Higham)

Questions:

1. What characteristics should young men in battle have?
2. What are their rewards?
3. This poem was written more than 2,000 years ago. How applicable is it today?

The Man He Killed

"Had he and I but met
By some old ancient inn,
We should have set us down to wet
Right many a nipperkin!

"But ranged as infantry,
And staring face to face,
I shot at him as he at me,
And killed him in his place.

"I shot him dead because-
Because he was my foe,
Just so: my foe of course he was;
That's clear enough; although

"He thought he'd 'list, perhaps,
Off-hand like--just as I;
Was out of work, had sold his traps-
No other reason why.

"Yes; quaint and curious war is!
You shoot a fellow down
You'd treat if met where any bar is,
Or help to half-a-crown."

--Thomas Hardy

Some definitions:

• A "nipperkin" is a drink container.
• "Traps" are items of clothing or belongings.
• "Half a crown" is a British coin.

Questions:

1. Who is the speaker in the poem?
2. Why did he kill the other man?
3. Why does the speaker repeat his reason for what he did?
4. Why does he seem puzzled?
5. If you had a chance, what would you say to the speaker about war?

Dulce Et Decorum Est

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shot. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.

GAS! GAS! Quick, boys!--An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime...
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,
-- My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.

--Wilfred Owen

Notes:

• "Five-Nines" are artillery shells that drop poison gas.
• The Latin words of the title and the final lines may be translated:
  "Sweet and fitting it is to die for one's country."

Questions:

1. Who is the speaker in the poem?
2. What is the condition of the men as described in stanza 1?
3. What happens to the man in stanza 2?
4. What effects on the reader do you suppose the poet had for his description of the man in stanzas 2-4?
5. Why do you suppose the speaker doesn't tell the reader where he is or why?
6. How would you describe the speaker's attitude toward what has happened?
7. Why does the speaker call the Latin expression a "Lie"?

Wilfred Owen was killed in World War I.

This lesson was written for TeachableMoment.Org, a project of Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility. We welcome your comments. Please email author Alan Shapiro at ashapiro7@comcast.net.

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