Sentence:  "The individual in the army becomes used to holding human life in contempt, in fact the greater the slaughter, the greater is his merit; and the more medals, ribbons, and honors of hero-worship are <WSD>showered</WSD> on him, the more he becomes, after a time, indifferent to all sorts of human suffering and loss of human life." 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To bestow liberally, to give or distribute in abundance