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"Giving up may mean defeat, but it does not always mean surrender. In most situations what is given up is some particular way of reaching a goal, rather than a complete abandonment of the objective. ... A man who can 'take it' and still do his best without bitterness is highly regarded in the Army as in civilian life. . . . [But] when the disappointment is much too severe for a man's strength to stand up under it, he may literally run away—go 'over the hill.' . . . More likely to occur is a sort of symbolic running away through feigned illness or physical defect."
Or the defeated man may actually become ill. The diseases may be "real enough, even though they have no organic basis . . . the hysterias . . . and war neuroses, miscalled shell shock in the World War, have this origin. When a soldier reaches a point where he can no longer stand up under the horrors he must face . . . and yet his spirit will not allow him to turn back, then he may suddenly go blind, lose the use of his arms or legs, or he may forget his name and everything connected with his identity and wander off."*
Who's Afraid? It is an axiom among battle-tried U.S. troops that "anybody who is not scared of bombs and bullets is a damn liar." The Infantry Journal article confirms this contention, says it is as true of the veteran as the green soldier, but it is also true of the enemy. "Germans and Japs get just as scared as Americans and Britons."
Fear, the psychologists say, is a good thing. "It is the body's preparation for action. The heart pounds faster, pumping blood . . . where its oxygen is needed. The lungs do their part by quickened breathing. Blood pressure goes up. Adrenalin, which is nature's own 'shot in the arm,' is poured into the blood stream. Sugar is released into the blood to act as fuel for the human fighting machine. . . . [The soldier's ] blood clots more readily. He loses temporarily the sense of fatigue even though he may have been dog tired."
Once in action, fear is forgotten if the soldier is well trained, so that he responds by habit to definite battle orders.
In order that the fear that precedes action may not become overpowering, the psychologists offer six aids: 1) do something—fight fear with work; 2) keep in sight of other men—just the presence of others minimizes fear; 3) call the roil to reassure the soldier that others are doing their part; 4) keep men informed of what is going on—"the known is never so fearful as the unknown"; 5) control the signs of fear; panicky men must be removed from the sight of others; 6) even statistics help—"the chances that any one man will be among those mortally wounded in any one battle are small."
"The coward, who must run when he is scared, is the one to dread terror. None but the brave can afford to fear."
*In New Guinea such cases are called "bomb batty."