Soldiers as gifts to the Gods
Richard A. Koenigsberg
Arthur H. Feiner and Edgar Levenson write about "The Compassionate Sacrifice" as "a gift, an act of renouncement." It  presupposes that the worshipper give some of his substance or his goods to the gods. The reason the worshiper does this is to survive by insuring the god's survival. "If he is to live, the universal life must continue and consequently the gods must not die."

Since the gods are the personifications or symbolic representations of society, "it is through them and their worshipers that the society's dependence on its members is expressed."

In war, the substance given to the god is the body of the soldier. The god itself is the nation-state. The perpetuation of society is born  of the sacrifices of individuals who constitute society. 

Society itself is the god which is worshiped and for which sacrifices are made. Why has "society" assumed such power over the minds of individuals who constitute society?

Annihilation of the soldier is bound to glorification of the state. The state gains power when individuals demonstrate a willingness to die for it. Willingness to die in war constitutes glorification of god, the nation-state.