First of all, nescience is my new favorite word. Yes, I had to look it up.

This was intriguing, but a little confusing. I think my major issue was the tense shift. I understand the past tense parts are from the crash and the present tense parts are from.. the present. It just struck me as somewhat confusing. Maybe put the past tense as flashbacks? In italics or something? Maybe it's just me.

I want to tell you, though, that I really like your writing style. In general, I mean; not just this piece. It's so.. specific. And different. And I really enjoy it.

  That helped. Just the fact that it started in past tense made it significantly easier to read; I'm not sure why. But when you get to the line "He'd been the only one to see the missile," you switch to past participle - which, I think, is what you should do. But then you switch back to past. I think the whole part about the crash, all the flashback part, should be in past participle.

 You asked if your work demonstrated compassion, and I think it does, just in a different way than what I would usually associate it with. The main obstacle for me was that this piece wasn't very clear, and I couldn't tell if this was an extension of an earlier work or a totally independent one.

I think some adjectives could benefit from more descriptive and fitting words; for example,

The sun was too bright.

Instead of "too bright," perhaps use "glaring," some other adjective. The fact that he had to squint to look up at the man tells us that it is too bright in itself.

I don't like the word nescience, because I think merely using the word "ignorant" would suffice.

There seems to be some incomplete sentences, such as:

All around him were remnants of a helicopter, his six fallen comrades. What little remains after an explosion.

He was a big man. With broad shoulders ample enough to carry the weight of the war.

The only one to see the missile, dread filled his soul.

...he walked away from the wreckage. Inaugurated into a new brotherhood.

 To me, they detract from the dramatic tension of the work.

Finally, I would like to see some elaboration between these lines:

Not even him.

And then he awoke in sunlight.

Perhaps you can mention his own thoughts, his memories; what he's thinking, how he feels about his comrades, his own compassion (whether he calls it that or not)...

To me, despite changes in tense, I still don't fully understand the entire meaning of this work. If there were more thoughts, emotions, inner character, I would feel more of a connection to the main character.