{"id":37187,"date":"2024-04-03T19:43:33","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T02:43:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=37187"},"modified":"2024-04-19T14:34:29","modified_gmt":"2024-04-19T21:34:29","slug":"casualties-of-war-and-armor-for-the-soul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/casualties-of-war-and-armor-for-the-soul\/","title":{"rendered":"Casualties of War and Armor for the Soul"},"content":{"rendered":"

I read The Good Kill: Just War and Moral Injury, <\/em>by Marc LiVecche on my flight to Phnom Penh, Cambodia last week. I then watched We Were Soldiers<\/em>. I understood the film to be an accurate representation of the impact of war not only to soldiers on both sides of the Vietnam War, but that of their spouses and families. The genocide that took place in Cambodia was naturally at the forefront of my mind. There was no just war<\/em> for that nation.<\/p>\n

My Experiences of the Casualties of War<\/em><\/p>\n

The casualties of war are both seen and unseen for soldier and civilian, adult and child alike. My introduction to war began in 1975 while making friends with Cambodian and Vietnamese refugees during junior and senior high school. Hearing their stories helped me understand the realities of war and the devastating impact on families.<\/p>\n

I moved to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in 1993 while the UN Transitional Authority for Cambodia (UNTAC) worked to establish peace, relief and development projects, de-mining efforts, and prepare for elections. After their departure, the warring military factions continued to be problematic. Guns, grenades, M-16\u2019s, and rocket launchers could be purchased at Phsar Thmei for next to nothing. Weapons were everywhere. As NGO workers we agreed to remain unarmed. We adhered to curfews, took safety precautions, and never left the city. I put my young children to bed to the sound of my neighbors shooting their weapons into the dark sky as a warning to not rob or come near during the powerless nights. The most devastating emotional experience was witnessing how clearly traumatized the Cambodian people were after living through the horrors of life and death under Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. It is estimated that 1.5-3 million Cambodians died between 1975-1979.[1]<\/a> The impact of the regime\u2019s control followed by Vietnamese intervention from 1979-1989 took an additional toll.[2]<\/a> Everyone we met had a story. Those who lived through those years had to somehow rebuild their lives. Currently, 48.6% of the Cambodian population is under 24-years old.[3]<\/a> The Cambodian youth of today don\u2019t live with the trauma their parents and grandparents faced, yet generational trauma persists with repercussions for the political, economic, educational, and public health of the Cambodian people.<\/p>\n

Moving to Vietnam in 1997, I was confronted with the realities of the \u201cAmerican War.\u201d I witnessed Vietnam veterans returning for a corrective emotional experience. Some came alone, others with humanitarian aid agencies, and as missionaries. I read news stories of the remains of MIA soldiers returned to the US. I observed the 25th<\/sup> Anniversary of the Fall of Saigon. I visited the site of the Hanoi Hilton where Senator John McCain was imprisoned. I toured Ho Chi Minh\u2019s house along the Saigon River in the city that now bears his name, noting the communist ideology he learned as a young man in France. I watched the dramatic changes following the implementation of the Doi Moi economic reform. Today, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has become one of the most dynamic emerging countries in East Asia.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

Now in the US, I live within a 30-mile radius of four military bases. About 15% of our counseling clients are active duty military personnel, veterans, and spouses impacted by their war-time experiences. Though I never saw an active battlefield, these recollections call for lament and healing for those morally, psychologically, and spiritually injured by war.<\/p>\n

War is complex. The outcomes mixed and rarely what one imagines. The causalities of war are not just among the dead, they are among the living.[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

The Book<\/em><\/p>\n

Marc LiVecche states the goal of his book, \u201cI want to help warfighters and those who care for them to reevaluate false beliefs about what it means to kill in war, to interrogate deeply held principles, and, where necessary, to adapt them, reinterpret them, and thereby grow in wisdom, emotional and spiritual health, and resistance.\u201d[6]<\/a> He highlights the difference between moral injury<\/em> which he describes as, \u201cthe justified trauma that comes from the guilt of having done something morally wrong\u201d and moral bruising<\/em> which produces grief at actions of a \u201clawful killing in war.\u201d[7]<\/a> His extensive reconstruction of just war ethics lands on an approach that honors the guilt, grief, and shame of the soldier and restores the ideal of the mournful warrior.[8]<\/a> I found the image of the enemy as neighbor<\/em> particularly insightful. The soldier who holds this image is mindful that taking a life is a last resort.[9]<\/a> This perspective seems to help the warrior avoid moral injury and embrace their humanity in efforts to restore peace, justice, and goodness. LiVecche advocates for the moral formation of warfighters before they ever see a battlefield, ethical education to address moral trauma, and communities back home ready to receive them upon return. All of which includes a theological framework that unburdens our returning warriors.[10]<\/a> An important observation LiVecche makes is that of shame and guilt, noting these are not typically the realm of clinical counseling, but a spiritual matter.[11]<\/a> This is where churches, communities, families, and peers can play a critical role. As a Christian counselor issues of shame, guilt, and relationship with God are frequently addressed in my work. However, the greatest power may lie in the connections and relationships with others who understand and come alongside the warrior and their families struggling with shame, guilt, grief, loss, and trauma.[12]<\/a><\/p>\n

LiVecche makes a strong appeal for the need to change the narrative and framework for soldiers. In my view, the need is urgent because this new framework has the potential to impact not only soldiers as they return from war, but their families and generations to come on both sides of any conflict. Our warfighters need the church and Christians to play a significant role in bringing about healing and restoration to those who suffer the casualties of war. They need “armor for their souls.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> \u201cCambodia,\u201d University of Minnesota, accessed April 2, 2024.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/cla.umn.edu\/chgs\/holocaust-genocide-education\/resource-guides\/cambodia<\/a><\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> \u201cVietnamese Intervention,\u201d Britannica<\/em>, accessed April 2, 2024.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Cambodia\/Vietnamese-intervention<\/a><\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> \u00a0Sheith Khidhir, \u201cWhat Will Become of Cambodia\u2019s Youth,\u201d The Asean Post, <\/em>accessed April 3, 2024.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/theaseanpost.com\/article\/what-will-become-cambodias-youth<\/a><\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> \u201cThe World Bank in Vietnam,\u201d accessed April 3, 2024.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.worldbank.org\/en\/country\/vietnam\/overview<\/a><\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> I have to wonder what kind of support the warfighters on the opposite sides of wartime conflicts receive? I wonder who attends to their spouses and children who are either left to grieve alone or deal with the PTSD of their loved one? What about the children who witnessed unimaginable atrocities, violence, displacement, and hunger?<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Marc LiVecche, The Good Kill: A Just War and Moral Injury. <\/em>(New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2021), 6.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Marc LiVecche, The Good Kill, <\/em>7<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Ibid.,179.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Ibid., 176.<\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> Ibid., 201-202.<\/p>\n

[11]<\/a> Ibid., 195.<\/p>\n

[12]<\/a> Last night, I sat with a Cambodia friend who told me his 12-year experience growing up in a refugee camp on the Thai border during the Khmer Rouge years. His mother made the long journey on foot with her only child to get to safety where he was then raised in the camp hospital witnessing physical mutilation, disease, and death. Today, he is a beautiful soul! God brought healing and restoration, much of which came in the context of relationships and spiritual support.<\/p>\n

Note: LiVecche coined the term “armor for their souls” on page 190.<\/p>\n

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I read The Good Kill: Just War and Moral Injury, by Marc LiVecche on my flight to Phnom Penh, Cambodia last week. I then watched We Were Soldiers. I understood the film to be an accurate representation of the impact of war not only to soldiers on both sides of the Vietnam War, but that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":184,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2310],"tags":[2489,3098],"class_list":["post-37187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-doctor-of-leadership-3","tag-dlgp02","tag-livecche","cohort-dlgp02"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/184"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37187"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37193,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37187\/revisions\/37193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}