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."
BCF : The wrecks of two Dutch submarines sunk off the Malaysian coast during the second world war have disappeared along with the remains of the 79 men who perished onboard.
Researchers discovered just a few remains of HNLMS O 16 and a mere outline in the seabed of the hull of HNLMS K XVII after investigating a possible disturbance. Both submarines were sunk by Japanese mines in the South China Sea in December 1941 at a cost of all but one of their crews.
The discovery highlights the continued difficulty of protecting war
wrecks, which are supposed to be protected under international treaties
from being disturbed. Jet Bussemaker, the granddaughter of Anton Bussemaker, who commanded
and died on the O 16 at the age of 41, said the news had been shocking
to the relatives of those whose lives were lost on the submarines.
Bussemaker, a former minister responsible for veterans, added it
should not come as a surprise given the intense activities of salvagers
in the seas around Indonesia and Malaysia. Last August, the then British defence secretary, Gavin Williamson,
condemned the damage done by looters to Royal Navy battleships sunk in
those seas.
