The Loneliness of War

I chose this picture because unlike so many of the other images I feel that it shows the loneliness of war. Sure the men have their comrades, but at the same time they are alone. Every soldier experiences war differently, and in that way they are alone. The soldiers are also away from home, which is different for every one of them as well. Some of them may have hated being at home, and are glad to not be there, but others could have been forced to leave a family that they love dearly, and everything in between. all of their individual experiences show how lonely it could be out on the front. This soldier is literally alone with his weapon. The caption talks about the great loss of men that France suffered on August 22,1914. This brings up another way that soldiers are together yet alone. They are friends, but at the same time they never know when someone will be killed. Even if the men did become close when one was lost every soldier handled that loss differently. That is why services for veterans are so important- not just physical care, but also mental care- so that each soldier can deal with what they saw and felt in war in the best way possible without feeling judged.