Rudyard Kipling"
“When you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldier”
General Douglas MacArthur"
“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.” “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .” “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
“Nobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
The man who saved Malaya from the Communists. Monday, Jun 7, 1954
Saturday, November 04, 2006
For an instant the stern face softened, the tight lips relaxed. Then the stiff-backed British general, regaining his composure, turned on his polished heel and marched towards his airliner at Kuala Lumpur in western Malaya. General Sir Gerald Templer, 55, the man who saved Malaya from the Communists, was on his way home, a job well done.
Before him now lies Britain's top field command: commander in chief of the Army of the Rhine. A lean, austere martinet who characterizes himself as "a professional soldier ... no politician," Templer had expected no fond farewells in Malaya. Yet all the way to the airport from his gubernatorial mansion, his Rolls Royce had been mobbed by cheering, affectionate Asians: Malays, Chinese and Indians. From the turbaned representatives of nine Malayan potentates, Templer got a silver cigar box. On his wrist he wore a bamboo bracelet, given by the aborigines of far-off Negri Sembilan, to ward off evil spirits. Parading before him were Chinese schoolchildren, waving banners. Sir Gerald and Lady Templer were visibly moved. "We are desperately sad about leaving," said Sir Gerald to a newsman. Templer raised his hand and waved to the crowd,ducked into the plane and was gone. Left : An unidentified Malayan Police officer (left) and 2/6745 Private John Milne (right), of 8 Section, 3 Platoon, A Company (A Coy), 2nd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (2RAR), sit under a large tree in front of the boundary fence of the Dovenbery rubber estate. As part of the food denial program against Communist terrorists, known as Operation Shark North, the estate workers were always searched for hidden food and other contraband when entering or leaving the estate. Both men are armed with Number 5, Short Magazine Lee Enfield (SMLE), jungle carbines. Click on image to enlarge
The Bayonet Fighter. When Templer arrived in Malaya in February of 1952, the country, like Indo-China some 200 miles to the north, was in mortal danger of being captured by Communist guerrillas. A quarter of a million troops and police were combing the jungles for a few thousand Communists. The guerrillas held the initiative, murdering and plundering at will.
Templer's orders were 1) to smash the Communists, 2) to weld Malayans—Malays, Chinese, Indians and British alike—into a sturdy, self-governing democracy within the Commonwealth. Objective No. 2 was impossible in a scant two years, yet Templer pledged himself, "mind and body," to fight for this political, economic and social "second front." He brought to his job demoniac energy, a streak of ruthlessness, a flair for jungle fighting (he once was bayonet fighting champion of the British army) and a sensibility that dumfounded those leftist British critics who had objected to his appointment out of fear that he might prove too tough.
"Templer found Malaya toppling," said the London Daily Telegraph last week. "He left it firm. That is the measure of his achievement."
The Hard Way. Templer's technique of fighting the guerrillas closely paralleled that of Asia's only other successful Communist killer, Philippines President Magsaysay. Both men combined ruthless military pressure with an all-out effort to get the majority of the people on their side. Continued here......
