Re: We will remember them...

On Mon, 12 Nov 2007 09:08:58 -0800, johnmhill <john@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

On Nov 12, 4:04 pm, Charles <j...@xxxxxxx> wrote:
On Mon, 12 Nov 2007 14:20:49 GMT, didgerman <didger...@xxxxxxx> wrote:
Charles wrote:
On Mon, 12 Nov 2007 01:49:51 -0800, johnmhill <j...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

On Nov 11, 12:09 am, Charles <j...@xxxxxxx> wrote:
For The Fallen

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them".

The Soldier

If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

Rupert Brooke
I attended my Regimental Remembrance day in London, and sort of felt
an impostor. Everyone even 5 years younger than me and all the young
Fusiliers wore campaign medals at least. My contemporaries and I were
I guess the lucky generation, although I *feel* cheated that I never
really had a war (NI doesn't really count).

Very interesting sermon in the church. The chaplain was very anti
pacifist and posited that we have often had to draw a line and stand
there, and that we are now at war - his list of countries with whom we
are at war was long and had one common feature. That line now swwms to
be a circle.

Strange day really.

It is a fact that there are many Servicemen who served during that
era, including some quite senior officers, whose uniforms are bereft
of campaign medals.

It may be that they were "lucky" to have avoided making the ultimate
sacrifice, or to have been spared the experience of being tested in
such an environment.

Like yourself, most of them regret having never been really tested,
and to have never explored and discovered the levels of their own
resourcefulness and courage.

I dunno, if I turned up at work for ten years without getting shot at
I'm not sure I'd have regrets. I'd have thought the job of our services
was to put an end to fighting, not feel regret that you never did.

It's the "job" of governments to "put an end to fighting", our Armed
Forces simply do as they are told and fight in the interests and on
behalf of the nation.

It can be frustrating to train to high levels of competence without
that competence ever being challenged. To be a true warrior then it is
necessary to be tested in the heat of battle.

The camaraderie and esprit de corp of fighting men is shaped and
nurtured by shared experiences.

On the other hand, I appreciate your sentiments as no-one really wants
or needs a bullet up the arse...- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Very similar to good rugby teams Charles. Knowing that you are the
best and prove in in the most challenging arena
Interestingly my most intense Rugby experiences were in the Army.

I very nearly used that analogy in my reply to Didge, but thought it
probably better not to as you know how confused he gets. ;o)

However, you make a good point John, and as with the Armed Forces, so
too with rugby teams; pick on one of them inappropriately and you fall
out in a big way with them all.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: We will remember them...
    ... At the going down of the sun and in the morning ... That is for ever England. ... really had a war. ... Interestingly my most intense Rugby experiences were in the Army. ...
    (rec.sport.rugby.union)
  • Re: Vangas predictions for this world...
    ... began making predictions when she was 16 years old. ... Will start as a normal war, ... 2100 - Man made Sun is lighting up the dark side of the planet Earth. ...
    (soc.culture.indonesia)
  • Vangas predictions for this world...
    ... began making predictions when she was 16 years old. ... Will start as a normal war, ... 2100 - Man made Sun is lighting up the dark side of the planet Earth. ...
    (soc.culture.indonesia)
  • Re: Ashamed to be British?
    ... >> its time we clsoed down rupert murdochs empire and yes bushel and sun ... >> the current war in iraq and afghanistan. ... >> terrorism and war are same thing i find both utterly reprehensible ... >> especially for reasons of current hostilities. ...
    (uk.radio.amateur)
  • Re: Ideas for routine inventory of 400+ workstations
    ... >experiences on having to routinely inventory large numbers of solaris ... verify the machines presence and then collect the ... and it's free to download from Sun. ...
    (comp.unix.solaris)