improving (gumbolaya)

I wanted to know what had pushed them over the brink, and why some had broken down as a result of that experience while others had been able to go on with their lives. Most of the men I interviewed had gone to war feeling well prepared, drawn close by the rigors of basic training and the shared danger. They exchanged pictures of their families and girlfriends; they put up with one another's flaws. And they were prepared to risk their lives for their friends. Most of them confided their dark secrets to a buddy, and some went so far as to share each other's shirts and socks.