Actually, the vast majority of soldiers would have been more like that wimpy guy in Saving Private Ryan. The 97%/3% can be verified in the book On Killing, by David Grossman. That`s why in Vietnam they started having soldiers shoot an man-shaped targets in training instead of bulls-eyes.

The fact is that all species-even humans-have an instinctive inhibition against killing members of their own species. That`s why when rattlesnakes fight, they wrestle instead of bite. When deer fight, they lock antlers instead of goring each-other, and humans punch instead of eye-gouge and strangle. Mental conditioning is usually necessary to overcome these inhibitions, and why it`s often so psychologically traumatic to kill one`s fellow man, even when justified.

I could go on and on, but just get the book. It breaks down the entire psychological process of killing and its consequences on the human mind.

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