Tomorrow is another anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and marks this country's entry into the most extensively brutal war in mankind's history. Big wars, little wars--to the ones who are dying it doesn't matter if only one person or 40 million of them are dying with her or him. But still WWII stands out as the biggest monument to mindless brutality. The "Good War"?
Who remembers what December 16 is the anniversary of? December 16, 1944, was the first day of the Battle of the Bulge. It was the largest land battle United States soldiers ever fought in, and was the last gasp of a dying Nazi regime against the Western Allies. I guess only old men, wierd history buffs like me, and Kurt Vonnegut remember it.
When I was a kid in school, everybody heard of the Battle of the Bulge, but I had no idea what it was. My teachers, some of whom had been in it, only mentioned it in passing, though in a subdued tone.
My Uncle was in the Battle of the Bulge, but he never talked about the war--except once. "You kids play at war! I don't get it! I remember getting shot at by some enemy soldiers hiding in some woods. I fired my machine gun and suppressed their fire. We approached the woods and found our enemy, bleeding and dying. Ten year old kids just like you. To me, war can never be a game. Go find something else to do!" My Uncle became reclusive, and had horrible nightmares until the day he died.
Only idiots take war lightly. "Know yourself and not your enemy, and you can win half your battles. Know yourself and your enemy, and you'll never lose a battle. If you don't know yourself or your enemy, get out of town!" (My rearrangement and paraphrase of Sun Tzu.) Welcome to Iraq!
Who remembers what December 16 is the anniversary of? December 16, 1944, was the first day of the Battle of the Bulge. It was the largest land battle United States soldiers ever fought in, and was the last gasp of a dying Nazi regime against the Western Allies. I guess only old men, wierd history buffs like me, and Kurt Vonnegut remember it.
When I was a kid in school, everybody heard of the Battle of the Bulge, but I had no idea what it was. My teachers, some of whom had been in it, only mentioned it in passing, though in a subdued tone.
My Uncle was in the Battle of the Bulge, but he never talked about the war--except once. "You kids play at war! I don't get it! I remember getting shot at by some enemy soldiers hiding in some woods. I fired my machine gun and suppressed their fire. We approached the woods and found our enemy, bleeding and dying. Ten year old kids just like you. To me, war can never be a game. Go find something else to do!" My Uncle became reclusive, and had horrible nightmares until the day he died.
Only idiots take war lightly. "Know yourself and not your enemy, and you can win half your battles. Know yourself and your enemy, and you'll never lose a battle. If you don't know yourself or your enemy, get out of town!" (My rearrangement and paraphrase of Sun Tzu.) Welcome to Iraq!
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(avoiding writing essays really)
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