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."
Robert Spencer : “They threatened us, saying that they would not let us live in the
village … But we are not afraid. We will continue to stay here.” It’s the same story the world over, in so many different contexts,
and yet international authorities resolutely fail to see the common
thread.
“Historic Church Service in Mardin, Turkey, Marred by Attack on Christian Family,” Barnabas Fund, June 13, 2022:
A Christian family were attacked
in a village in Mardin province, south-eastern Turkey, shortly before a
church service on Sunday, June 5. The service in Mor Gevargis Assyrian Church, Brahîmîye village, was the first held in the building in almost 100 years, after renovation work which began in 2015.
The
Yilmaz family – the only Assyrian family who live in the village – were
attacked at their home by a group of around 50 Muslims. The family were
at the time entertaining visiting clergy who had come to officiate at
the service.
The attackers were led by a Muslim family with whom the Yilmaz family have had a long-standing dispute over land. The
mob attacked the home with stones, sticks and other weapons. They then
set fire to wheat being grown by the Yilmaz family. None of the family
were injured, and the fire was eventually extinguished after witnesses
alerted the police.
“They threatened us,” said Cengiz Yilmaz,
“saying that they would not let us live in the village … But we are not
afraid. We will continue to stay here.”
He accused the attackers of
specifically choosing the day of the church ceremony to re-open the land
dispute….
