Overall, the writers really capture what is perhaps best defined as disillusionment. The men who returned home were drastically altered men -- quite literally. They returned home to parades, but when the parades ended, there they were with their physical bodies mutilated and their jobs gone. They had to witness the men who stayed behind receiving great money at their jobs, while the veterans were forced to find some way back into society -- and a society that was much more expensive than when they left.
"When Johnny Comes Marching Home" is relevant today because it captures a lot of the same feelings of disillusionment and not just for the people coming home but for the people who stay home and support (or don't support) the war from afar. Men and women today return home changed people who face tremendous challenges. Perhaps the medical care -- including mental health care -- is better now though than it was during the First World War. Still, there are many who remain disillusioned and perhaps even bitter once they get home. This was quite true for the soldiers who returned home from Vietnam for certain.
The chapter is, overall, uncomfortable to read, but this is most likely the Harrieses objective in writing it. When one talks of war it usually is not in a glorified manner. Sure, the people who fight in wars are heroes and they are admirable individuals...
This chapter really drives home the point that war is messy in every sense. Tons of people die and for the people who do return home there are so many challenges that they must face -- from economic problems, to health problems, to job problems, to familial problems. They face every problem imaginable. And in the end, what was it for? This is really the question that the Harrieses seem to be asking -- what is the purpose of war? Isn't it just wasteful? Of course there are so many people who would disagree and would be appalled with the tone the Harrieses take with this chapter. It is a difficult chapter to read and the tone is unsettling because they are talking about real individuals -- not some metaphorical "Johnny." These were real people. Perhaps this is the only way, however, to get the point across to people that war is not the answer. This is what I think I will take away from reading this article. We can glorify war and the people who go to fight, and we can even make their graves look all pretty with flowers, but, in the end, these people died a dirty, awful death in the name of -- what?
Reference
Harries, M. & S. (1997). When Johnny comes marching home. The last days of innocence. New York: Random House, Inc.
