Shot for cowardice-agree/disagree WW1

[les_taxi]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-25841494

[joebloggs]

19yrs old, he had seen action, more than the politicians sat on their safe back in London.

what would most of us do if you had gone thru this, coward or not it cost him his life at 19

[les_taxi]

It's a tough one,I sympathise but you cannot let your fellow soldiers down.
Well politicians sat on their arses is a fair point too but they did not join the Army so you cannot expect them to fight.

[fred]

It's a tough one,I sympathise but you cannot let your fellow soldiers down.
Well politicians sat on their arses is a fair point too but they did not join the Army so you cannot expect them to fight.

I would agree but he seemed to have a history of memory loss due to having yellow fever as a kid..
Sounds like pretty valid excuse to go walkies to me!!

[grahamw48]

I'd never join up to fight politicians' wars...unless directly protecting my family.

[les_taxi]

I'd never join up to fight politicians' wars...unless directly protecting my family

You would have joined up ww1 and ww2?

[grahamw48]

Probably yes Les.

Current deployments...no.

[imagine]

world war , many many men were marched on to advance the powers that be knew they were sending many many men to certain death, sacrified to advance on the enemy

[les_taxi]

I think we are all proud of them and owe them everything.

[Dedworth]

A war-weary Tommy sits thoughtfully, head bowed, rifle in hand, as he reflects upon the sheer horror of World War One during the first minute after peace was declared in 1918.
This imposing metal sculpture, entitled 1101, owing to the fact the armistice went into effect at 11am on November 11, 1918, stands 9ft 5ins tall and weighs 1.2 tonnes.
Built out of special corteen steel, it has been installed on Seaham seafront in Country Durham to mark the centenary of the start of the Great War and will remain in place for three months.
Created by local artist Ray Lonsdale, the sculpture is also intended to represent Post Traumatic Stress Disorder which many of the returning soldiers endured. Mr Lonsdale got his idea for the piece after hearing a story about a soldier from nearby Murton who won a war medal.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz33OYzoBj5

From what I've read, given the situation & military law at the time I feel the penalty was correct

[Iani]

There are many things about WW1 which people sometimes overlook.

It was certainly a politicians war, they safely back home or way back in the lines. The politicians even used the women back at home against the men. That habit these evil bitches had of presenting white feathers to any men not in uniform.

Something else very overlooked. The Victorians built up the world, and the British were renowned for their order and intelligence - go getters.
On the front line at the beginning of the war, in the other countries where there was conscription, there was a cross section of society - the brave, the cowardly, the intelligent and the stupid.
Britain - so many were volunteers - the bravest of the generation. These brave and intelligent men, who couldn't later work for the country and pass their genes on. Think about it.

It's a national source of anger in Poland that the communists massacred Polish officers as WW2 was ending, to presumably remove a threat to communist rule taking over. This was a huge proportion of the educated Polish middle class, and the Poles know these men would have made their country and lives of the people a lot better if they had not been lost.

[grahamw48]

Good points.

[joebloggs]

Good points.

Absence of America's Upper Classes From the Military

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=2270473

thou age of senators might be a factor, but even still

A NATION AT WAR: CHILDREN OF LAWMAKERS; Senators' Sons in War: An Army of One

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/22/us...my-of-one.html