"The Man He Killed"

In this poem, the narrator leads me to believe if these two men would have met in person, they would have been friends. Hardy writes, "Had he and I but met/By some old ancient inn" (lines 1-2). These two men went to fight for their country. They left their civilian lives where jobs were of short supply. They both decided to enlist. "He thought he'd list, perhaps,/Off-hand-like-just as I-" (lines 13-14). As in war, one really doesn't know why they aim to kill a person. They just know it's their job. Not stopping to think this person has a family, like them. The narrator states, "Yes; quaint and curious war is!/You shoot a fellow down"(lines 17-18). If he would have had a chance to meet this man he killed, he might of changed his mind.