On Wednesday morning, I'll be stood before our war memorial, listening to the last post and looking at the list of Besserves, Portiers, Labonnes, Tixiers, Tissiers, Chazottes, Rocheforts and all the others who's lives were so cruelly robbed from them.
Over the years I've graduated from way to the back to the front row and I'll be stood between the Mayor and Mr. Jean Sanitas who was rescued from his Gespato torturers just before before his execution - unlike his father and brother who weren't so lucky. Whatever the marks of civic dignity, I see it as my duty to fix an image in my mind. Picture a nineteen year old, lying in some field, lying in a sticky pool of his own blood, shit and piss. Maybe he's watching summer flies feeding on his ruptured intestines, maybe he's watching the mid-winter cold freeze the exposed ends of his tripes. He might have the brains of his best friend smeared over his face or he may not. He will be calling for his mother though, and whether he calls for ten minutes or for two days, she won't come. Now the image is fixed in your mind - ask yourself, who is he? A Leeds or Bradford Pal? One of Kitchener's boys? Maybe a Welsh Guard or 2 Para? Or maybe he's a boy from Saxony, or from Tokyo or from Buenos Aires? Maybe he's some Pashtun goatsherd lying fifty yards from his home? Who knows..... And by God you should not care! If you forget everything else, you must remember this - Remembrance Day is not about celebrating the pride and might and courage of our armed forces - it is about remembering the absolute senseless stupidity, the futility, the horror and the gut wrenching fucking waste that war represents. That's why I wear my poppy with pride. That's why I salute the sense and the bravery of those who refuse to wear one. Don't insult the men who fought the War to end all Wars by suggesting otherwise. Damian. RAFA & Les Soldats de France _______________________________________________ the Leeds List is an unmoderated mailing list and the list administrators accept no liability for the personal views and opinions of contributors. Leedslist mailing list [email protected] http://list.zetnet.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist http://www.worldnet.org.uk WorldNET2009
