“War is society's dirty work, usually done by kids cleaning up some failure on the part of the adults.” — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
When the peace treaty is signed, the war isn't over for the veterans, or the family. It's just starting. — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
'Matterhorn' is my metaphor of the Vietnam War - we built it, we abandoned it, we assaulted it, we lost, and then… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
War is society's dirty work, usually done by kids cleaning up failures perpetrated by adults. — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
Really important books to me are the classics. I try very hard to read them well - you know, especially once I… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
For every veteran who goes through a divorce, a wife goes through one, too. For every veteran alone in the basement, there… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
Vietnam was the first time that Americans of different races had to depend on each other. In the Second World War, they… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
Victory in combat is like sex with a prostitute. For a moment you forget everything in the sudden physical rush, but then… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
“The kids filed quietly to the edge of the strip to wait for the helicopters. Other Marines stopped to watch them, wanting… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
This nation should be less worried about putting the Vietnam syndrome behind us than restarting the World War II victory syndrome that… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
When I first got back from the war, I said, 'I'm gonna write the Great American Novel about the Vietnam War.' So… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
“But just below the grim tranquility he had learned to display, he cursed with boiling intensity the ambitious men who used him… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
“The fourteen-man snake moved in spasms. . . Their eyes flickered rapidly back and forth as they tried to look in all… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
“Mellas knew that Hawke was letting him squirm. Then, without looking up, Hawke said, 'Look, Mellas, in the Navy or Air Force… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
“Many will argue that there is nothing remotely spiritual in combat. Consider this. Mystical or religious experiences have four common components: constant… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
“Emotion constricted Hawke’s throat. He suddenly understood why the victims of concentration camps had walked quietly to the gas chambers. In the face of… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
I began writing 'Matterhorn' in 1975 and for more than 30 years I kept working on my novel in my spare time, unable to… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
“We have an idea of what is right or wrong. And we can debate moral issues as ideas. But moral *standards* are not ideas;… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
It was all absurd, without reason or meaning. People who didn't know each other were going to kill each other over a hill none… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
Everything is touched by the holy when it is in the presence of death. — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
In the military I could exercise the power of being automatically respected because of the medals on my chest, not because I had done… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
Once we recognize our shadow's existence we must resist the enticing step of going with its flow. — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
“Many will argue that there is nothing remotely spiritual in combat. Consider this. Mystical or religious experiences have four common components: constant awareness of… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
When I first got back from the war, I said, 'I'm gonna write the Great American Novel about the Vietnam War.' So I sat… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
“But just below the grim tranquility he had learned to display, he cursed with boiling intensity the ambitious men who used him and his… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
And I think that it's - the military has actually made improvements, so people are considering post-traumatic stress disorder as, at the least, a… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
