I think it's fairly appropriate to use the phrase "gave their lives" when
soldiers die in action. Not from some philosophical point of view, but
because on the whole soldiers tend to be young and male, full of
testosterone and propaganda. It might be good propaganda (Hitler's evil
and a threat to democracy!) or bad, but unless the soldier is a pacifist
forced to the front lines at gunpoint, I suspect he's made a mental
adjustment somewhere along the way in which he commits himself, and his
life, to the effort.
That's not to say the soldier wants to die or that he seeks death. Just
that the glorious sacrifice for patriotism meme is very, very strong once
it has been embraced.
I can't think of many other things that would prevent an army of otherwise
intelligent people from revolting against their officers en masse and
running the *away* from the bloody machine guns.
Marvin Long
Austin, Texas
