What can veterans from more recent wars such as Viet Nam and Iraq learn from these WWII vets?
SCHIRALDI: I believe the strengths of resilience are timeless and universal, and that we can all still learn much from these survivors. People often ask me if I would find similar strengths in the veterans of more recent wars, and I reply, “You would in the resilient ones.” It was Viktor Frankl, the Holocaust survivor, who wrote that people can withstand almost any suffering if they have a reason to, something to give their lives meaning and purpose. What were some of the traits these people shared? SCHIRALDI: These survivors were very clear on their lives’ purposes, why they were fighting, and what kinds of lives they wished to return to. They were also very clear on matters of character. They’d decided in advance what they would and wouldn’t do, and thus carried fewer regrets back home with them. Whether it was standing up to immoral orders or being faithful to loved ones, this was a remarkably moral group of individuals. For the most part, they came from close-knit families, with ad
