Unknown Soldiers

“

“For the first time, they detected a note of irritation in Koskela's voice. His gait was a bit stiffer than usual too. Some of them figured it was Lehto who had irritated him, and others assumed it was Lahtinen, but in truth it was all of them. The event and its aftermath had stirred up feelings in Koskela he thought he had buried beneath the snowdrifts of the Winter War. He had tried to forget about death - his own or anybody else's - and to maintain a certain tranquility. This tranquility was dear to him, and he was angry now that it had been upset. Nothing had been quite brutal enough to desensitize him to the insanity of war. He fought, and he fought better than countless others, but each despicable deed and show of pride in killing awakened the judge in him. He had tried to fulfil his duty, blocking out its insanity, and now this equilibrium had been upset - which was why he was walking jerkily several yards in front of his men. But soon his heaving breath evened out. He calmed down. The lingering shock of the experience fell away and Koskela was his former self once more. The baseness of what Lehto had done had affected him most deeply of all of them probably but after a few minutes, it ceased to trouble him. And so one more incident receded into the past. Nobody learned anything from it, and everybody, by forgetting, condoned it.”

“

“Riitaoja was still lying in his ditch, face pressed to the ground. He was like a terrified child. Lucky for him, ambition did not figure amongst his concerns. Neither did any conception of homeland, so he was at liberty to be just as terrified as he liked.”

“

“What was left of the troups was sent home, and a younger set was called up in replacement. The older men set off in the warmth of the spring - in fur caps, coats, felt boots and thick , wool sweaters. They returned without any 'difficulties of reintegration'. First, a good, old-fashioned Finnish dousing - then, back to work. Were all of our sacrifices in vain? Well, that was a question reserved for people without spring planting to do - and those people might well wonder whether their sacrifices had been so terribly great after all.”