Sacrifice; slaughter

The other recent war article, not yet publicly delivered, deals with two
perfectly allowable metaphors that have decomposed into polluting
clichés — Sacrifice and Slaughter. True, there is an element of
sacrifice in joining the forces — sacrifice of time and prospects, of
youth and health, but a sacrificial victim is put to death, and no
soldier wants or expects simply to be put to death. And from the
commander’s point of view the loss of troops is a matter of expenditure,
not sacrifice. Similarly with slaughter, the business of a
slaughterhouse is to be efficient, hygienic, and total: there are no
prisoners, no wounded, no survivors, no wooden cross, no letters of
sympathy, no Memorial Day. In the context of war writing, most talk of
sacrifice is prate, most talk of slaughter is rant. This will be an
unpopular statement, but it needs to be made. David Jones touches
legitimately on both metaphors but eschews both clichés.

Bill Blisset, Seventy Years With David Jones