#22: Ernest Hemingway

Rank: Ambulance Driver, Italian Red Cross

Duration: 7 Months

Ernest Hemingway’s decision to serve during World War I reflected his adventurous spirit and sense of duty. Enlisting as an ambulance driver in Italy, he found himself thrust into the harrowing realities of war. In a twist of fate, a botched mortar attack inflicted severe injuries upon him, altering the course of his life.

The gravity of the situation became apparent when he realized that had the attack succeeded; he might have met his end on that fateful night, highlighting the precariousness of wartime existence and the randomness of fate. This near-death experience would later shape Hemingway’s writing, infusing his work with a profound sense of mortality and resilience.