To a certain extent I do agree the War was a contributing factor to the drinking..probably a large part, however, I think what he came back to, the poverty, the fact that his life was standing still after being and seeing all that he did, contributed heavily to his wanting to forget everything.

I think the more he drank, the more he enjoyed the blessed halt of his REAL day-to-day existence. He drank, he forgot. It allowed him to be dilusional and he found out he preferred that to reality. Don't you think?

JJ