Those in power continued their crusades for freedom and democracy, it seems, with little regard for the value of the lives they were sacrificing. Even though there was no direct conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union, the manipulation of power and the use of political loopholes still managed to result in the deaths of American troops, as can be seen in the containment policy and later in the Gulf of Tonkin. Resolution. There are many examples of seemingly pointless sacrifices made for the war effort in Catch-22, one of which is the former Private Wintergreen whose punishment is to dig holes and then fill them in, however Colonel Cathcart was the best symbol for the soldiers against the war. and civilians who believed that the Korean War, and later the Vietnam War, were unnecessary and illogical escalations of violence