A friend of mine was a soldier and specfial forces/ sniper during the vietnam war. He feels he is responsible for the soldiers and others he killed during war. What is the talmudic stance on the actions of soldiers during wars declared and undeclared?
Answer:
The way of warfare is that combatants are killed (see II Shmuel 11:25), and there is no responsibilty on a soldier who killed enemy combatants in war.
Even concerning the halachah whereby a kohein who kills somebody is prohibited from performing birkas ha-kohanim, the poskim write that a kohein who killed others in battle can continue to give the blessing, because it is considered as though he was forced to kill (see Shut Tiferes Tzvi 36; Hitorerus Teshuvah 4:11).
Your friend did whatever all soldiers do and have to do: to carry out orders and take their part in the war againt the national enemy. He should by no means feel guilty about his actions, and on the contrary, it was his moral duty to as he did.
