Remembering Ain't Easy

I started reading "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut up to the first chapter. I got the impression from the author that he was writing some kind of autobiography, not of his whole life but of his days on the front line during World War II. It struck me that he couldn't remember almost anything of those days where his life was at risk. Not even his friend O'Hare could remember. I have seen many documentaries of how many soldiers come back with this psychological illness where they can't think of anything else other than their experience on the field. So that makes me come to the conclusion that maybe the experience of these guys was so bad they decided unconsciously to forget it, eradicate it for their own good. Even though I think they should remember to pass on what they say and experienced so other people know what horrible incident happened so it doesn't happen again. I would like to link this to the attacks of 9/11 as I saw the 10th anniversary memorial. Just because of incidents like this people should remember for the future knowledge. With knowledge people might learn what to do differently so it doesn't happen again.