They look, but they don't see: the faces of soldiers who have gone through hell

In the American military vocabulary there is a term "a look at two thousand yards". This is what they say about the facial expression of a soldier who has experienced a powerful emotional shock during a battle. The eyes are fixed forward, but they don't see anything. The mind under the influence of extreme stress practically stops its work. A person at such moments lives as if on autopilot.

Source: Disgusting Men

American Marine Robert Delonoy after two days and nights of battle on the beach of Eniwetok Atoll. Marshall Islands, February 1944.

This unusual term came into use after a reproduction of the painting of the same name by the American military artist Thomas Lee was published in Life magazine. He was on the battlefield during the battle with Japanese troops for Peleliu Island in Micronesia and saw a lot of Americans who fell into a stupor after storming another height. Soon he painted a picture depicting a soldier who saw too many terrible things.

Thomas Lee, "A Look at Two thousand Yards", 1944.

Psychologists are convinced that a stopped look is a manifestation of a protective reaction of the body. The mind loses the ability to perceive the surrounding reality for a while, thereby escaping from overload. After the tension subsides, the thought process returns to normal.

Italian soldier Antonio Metruccio after a battle that lasted 72 hours. The photographer is Maki Galimberti.

A German soldier captured during the Battle of Passchendaele, 1917.

Dressing station of the First World War. Surroundings of Ypres, 1917. One of the most eerie examples of "looking at two thousand yards."

American soldier Carlos Orhuela. Afghanistan, Helmand Province, 2008. The photographer is Louis Palu.

"A look at two thousand yards", of course, can be observed during all military conflicts without exception (and in ordinary life too), but most of these photos refer to the Vietnam War. The fact is that, unlike other wars, correspondents who worked in Vietnam did not try to hide such images, fearing to undermine the morale of the army. Photos of stunned Americans were used as an anti-war symbol.

American soldier Mike Tripp at the Catholic Church on Tho An Hoa. Vietnam, May 15, 1967. The photographer is Frank Johnston.

An American Marine, shell-shocked in the Battle of Hue, Vietnam, 1968. The photographer is Don McCullin.

American soldier Jacob William Moore, who was ambushed with his unit, Kandahar, Afghanistan, 2010. The photographer is Jerome Starkley.