The last-surviving British soldier of WW1, Harry Patch, died recently at the amazing age of 111.
Predictably, the establishment has been quick to sing his praises, with talk of the " sacrifice " his unfortunate generation was fated to suffer,along with other platitudes seeking to justify the carnage of the so-called " Great War " ( the biggest misnomer ever?? ).
What they will not voice of course is Harry's take on what happened:
" War is organised murder and nothing else "
" It wasn't worth 1 life "
" The politicians who took us to war should have been given the guns and told to settle their differences themselves, instead of organising nothing better than legalised murder."
And Harry didn't just talk the talk, he and his mates made a pact to avoid killing the enemy whenever possible, choosing to wound rather than kill.
I don't subscribe to the concept of " war hero "; " war victim" is more apt.
But Harry Patch was truly a hero for the common man.
Predictably, the establishment has been quick to sing his praises, with talk of the " sacrifice " his unfortunate generation was fated to suffer,along with other platitudes seeking to justify the carnage of the so-called " Great War " ( the biggest misnomer ever?? ).
What they will not voice of course is Harry's take on what happened:
" War is organised murder and nothing else "
" It wasn't worth 1 life "
" The politicians who took us to war should have been given the guns and told to settle their differences themselves, instead of organising nothing better than legalised murder."
And Harry didn't just talk the talk, he and his mates made a pact to avoid killing the enemy whenever possible, choosing to wound rather than kill.
I don't subscribe to the concept of " war hero "; " war victim" is more apt.
But Harry Patch was truly a hero for the common man.
A man is born to a virgin mother, lives, dies, comes alive again and then disappears into the clouds to become his Dad. How likely is that?
