Red had a deep loathing of the night before them. He had been through so much combat, had felt so many kinds of terror, and had seen so many men killed that he no longer had any illusions about the inviolability of his own flesh. He knew he could be killed; it was something he had accepted long ago, and he had grown a shell about that knowledge so that he rarely thought of anything further ahead than the next few minutes…
Red's intense disdain for the impending night reflects his profound experiences in combat. Having faced numerous battles and witnessed the horrors of war, he has lost all illusions regarding his own safety. The constant exposure to violence and death has ingrained a sense of fatalism in him, making him acutely aware of his vulnerability and mortality.
This awareness has created a psychological barrier; he has developed a protective shell that enables him to focus only on the immediate moment rather than the uncertainties that lie ahead. This survival instinct highlights the mental and emotional toll of war, as Red grapples with his acceptance of death and the relentless fear that accompanies it.