Rudyard Kipling"
āWhen 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 soldierā
General Douglas MacArthur"
āWe are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.ā
āIt is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.ā āOld soldiers never die; they just fade away.
āThe soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.ā
āMay God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .ā āThe object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
āNobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
āIt 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."
I will introduce myself. My name is Jurrien Boiten and I am the grandson of J. H. Boiten, a resistance fighter from Assen who didnāt come home after World War II. Murdered by the Nazis in the Dora concentration camp. So I am one of the relatives of the survivors you briefly mentioned in your speech during the commemoration this year.
Please understand that May 4 and 5 are also special days for me. Then all the emotions resurface. And this year that was even more so the case. When I heard on January 26 of this year that you would give the speech at the Dam I was angry.
How could it be that you were asked? But then, Ms. Gerdi Verbeet is the Chairman of the 4 and 5 May Committee and a prominent member of the Labour Party. You are too, and then the relationship becomes clear. I felt that something had been stolen from me. Anyway, you had not spoken yet, so I kept my mouth shut and waited. Your speech was going to make it clear. And it did indeed.
Why was I so upset when your name was called? That has everything to do with your faith and everything you stand for. You are above all a practicing Muslim. Additionally, you are a representative of the multicultural society desired and acclaimed by the left. But above all because of your Muslim background, letting you give a speech during the commemoration for all the Jews murdered in our country during the war is trying to unite the irreconcilable.