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The lieutenant knew that in war T purpose is never paramount, neither purpose nor cause, and that battles are always fought among human beings, not purposes. He could not imagine dying for a purpose. Death was its own purpose, no qualification or restraint. He did not celebrate war. He did not believe in glory. But he recognized the enduring appeal of battle: the chance to confront death many times, as often as there were battles. Secretly the lieutenant believed that war had been invented for just that reason-so that through repetition men might try to do better, so that lessons might be learned and applied the next time, so that men might not be robbed of their own deaths.“

Tim O’Brien. Going After Cacciato.