They didn t have adequate sleeping bags. The GI of World War II was a child of democracy. The strongest motivating factor was their buddies, the unit cohesion, the guys that they had trained with, gone overseas with, fought with. And what was unacceptable to the GI in that foxhole was letting his buddies down. What every one of them found out was I m afraid.
Fear is inevitable.
It s the natural reaction. The point is you ve got to learn to control that fear and work with that fear and conquer that fear and act. And these guys were able to do it. And in the end, for me, the GI of World War II was a child of democracy, who had grown up knowing the difference between right and wrong. They knew the difference between right and wrong, and they didn t want to live in a world in which wrong prevailed.