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."
When a hero almost cried.By Sheila Rahman October 20, 2008 The Malay Mail
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Nothing could break the spirit of Capt (Rtd) Mukhtiar Singh s/o Saudagar Singh. Not the fierce communist terrorists or even the assassination attempts (three!) could rattle the “country’s top bandit fighter” as he was popularly known during the country’s Emergency years. But Mukhtiar did come close to tears after he received a letter from the Ministry of Defence stating he was ineligible for a regular commission – despite having served a total of 29 years, four months and four days, first with the police and subsequently the Armed Forces. “I wanted to cry,” confessed Mukhtiar, 75, in an interview yesterday at the Taman Tun Dr Ismail home of his fellow ex-serviceman Lt-Col (Rtd) Mohd Idris Hassan.“I had just sent my eldest son off to Manipal for medical studies – where would I get the money to fund his education?” he said, recalling his dilemma. Mukhtiar mortgaged his home, got a bank loan and took up a security job for a good 11 years. He also had two other teenage children to educate. All in all, when Mukhtiar left the forces at the age of 45 (the compulsory retirement age for all officers of captain's rank) in 1978, he received a gratuity of RM8,332.50. His last drawn basic salary was RM825 – and his pension would have been approximately a mere one-third of that. “The worse part, truly, is that many people still cannot believe I don’t receive a pension. They think I must have done something terribly wrong,” said this highly decorated officer who had been honoured for gallantry by Queen Elizabeth. He was also awarded the PJK by the then Sultan of Selangor for spearheading the battle in making the State a “Red free” (white) area. (The PJK in the late 1950s was a highly regarded award, interjected Idris.)
The only “wrong” thing in Mukhtiar’s case apparently was not fulfilling the requirement of attending the Young Officers Tactics and Weapons courses. “These courses held at the Military Training School in Port Dickson were deemed career courses for newer officers of the regular army. There was never any clear cut written instruction that it was compulsory for the granting of a regular commission, which I had opted for.” In fact, Mukhtiar was highly recommended by all his superiors for this eligibility, which would have seen him serving a few more years and retiring with a decent pension. “Never was I ever informed or instructed to attend any of the courses. I was also guided by the advice of my commanding officer that as a Military Police Officer, I had no need to go,” related Mukhtiar, adding he would have been more than happy to have participated.
He, after all, had been an instructor on these matters for more than 17 years, having trained “hundreds of army personnel”, among them Idris. “It is still extremely painful for me to accept that I have been denied a pension all because I did not attend two basic courses towards the tail end of my career. I still remember my wife being fearful that if anything happened to me, there would be no legacy of support for her.” The Malay Mail
