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."
By end of 1968 the battalion moved to Kuching for a ninemonth unaccompanied tour of Sarawak. Those days units were shipped between West and East Malaysia for short operational stint. Families were left behind in the camps. Captain John Harvey, my company commander, left for England after having completed his tour of duty in Malaysia. He was replaced by Captain Samad Ayob. Barely a week after we arrived at Balai Ringin Camp we were assigned to a commando detachment (troop) under Captain Chua Hong Kang. Our first mission was to go across the Indonesian border to attack a Communist Terrorists (CT) camp located inside one of the many caves within the Idai Complex. The terrorists, according an informer, were estimated to be around 120- strong. That evening we bade farewell to our colleagues. Wewere transported, under cover of darkness, in military vehicles to a place called Lachau. It was a frightening moment for an inexperienced soldier like me and many shared my fear too but we were excited, nonetheless. We were confident of attacking the camp successfully and were prepared for some casualties.
We started at midnight, scaling up the mountain range somewhere near a small village at Lachau and cutting across into the Idai Complex. We were instructed specifically not to follow track used by the locals to avoid detection. It took us almost 3 days non- stop walking to reach the location. We split into small groups to detect signs on the ground. There were numerous footprints but we could not differentiate between friends or foes. All of sudden we received instructions to pull out immediately. We were given a fixed period to clear the area. The Indonesian Army would fire their guns into the area subsequently. Minutes later we heard the sounds of helicopters coming to pick and move us to an undisclosed location inside the Malaysian border.In full here....
