Quote Originally Posted by Ice
You'd think so, but I really doubt Lars would. I just hope to God if I ever have to serve/do serve, that I won't have someone like Lars watching my back.
You'd be surprised. In combat, many things change.

I'd much prefer to have a guy like Lars around, knowing clearly what he was and wasn't prepared to do. Much better than someone who's all mouth and trousers.

The former will probably do just what he said, and so is a known quantity. One can make decisions based on that honesty. And I have known a couple of men with his viewpoint that when the bullets were flying, excelled expectations in courage.

The latter man may either get you all killed by trying to be a hero or discover that combat is actually quite frightening and do the barest minimum necessary to keep himself alive. The man who swore to you that he'd cover your back might just be high-tailing it.

Until one has been there, it is really quite difficult to know which way you will go. And sometimes, the stress of battle can affect the mind so that the personality one had come to rely on changes. I once saw one of the bravest men I ever knew suddenly give up and sit weeping in the middle of the road. The incident that set this off was pretty minor compared to many we had gone through.

I still consider him one of the bravest men I ever knew - perhaps even more so because of his sudden humanity.