As a little sideline to your comment about men returning from war, I remember my Dad talking about having a hard time readjusting to normal life after WWII.

He said that life became incredibly boring after all the action and activities and the camaraderie amongst the men came to an end, apart from being a part of the returned serviceman's groups like the RSA's (NZ) and RSL's (Aust) where they just got together on occasions and relived their glory days without all the death and stress. Everyday life had become incredibly mundane in comparison. Nobody missed all the death and maiming, just the action in life.

I never thought of it as being an adrenaline trip for many until then. Some became addicted I guess. I still remember working with the highly stressed individuals from the war who were like powder kegs with a 1mm fuse on them. Those who shook constantly, startled at every sudden noise, those who developed OCD behaviours and those who became quite odd personalities when I was an apprentice, just before their retirements.

We used to laugh a bit at some of them, however in our defence, we were quite ignorant of what they had been through. It is only as I have become older and learned some more things that I feel more more empathy for them and their struggles and feel a sense of shame for my past feelings towards them.