Recon Force: Lightning Strike by Charles Ryan. In the essay it talks about how the main character First Lieutenant John "Red" Parnell gets through issues by thinking of how it was before the war.

Recon Force: Lightning Strike by Charles Ryan - October 2003 First Lieutenant John "Red" Parnell was the leader of Blue Team under the Command of Lieutenant Colonel James Dunmore. Lt. Parnell's character is a strong leader type. He handles most of his issues through memories of how it was before the war. He started feeling nervous right before Operation Torch took place. "Parnell watched out the back of the lorry, the countryside solid grass now, hilly …

…engine. Parnell stopped and unshouldered his Sten. The sound grew louder. Suddenly a hulking shadow thrust itself over the top of a dune directly behind him, the thing silhouetted against the stars. A bright light pinioned him. He actually felt the heat of its beam. His heart leaped as he lifted the muzzle of his weapon." That was enough detail to make even a blind person feel as if they were in the Algerian desert.