I seen a few guys who were “fearless”, and they got people around them killed. That’s the reason John Kerry had his second Vietnam tour cut short – he received his third Purple Heart [Wound Medal]. Having someone around that get wounded all the time could mean they are “fearless”, so the three and you are out rule was instituted. In his case, it would be pretty hard not to get hit, cruising around in a very loud boat on rivers lined with trees and having to see where you are going. They were shrapnel hits, so you needed to have them cut out, and there was a paper trail. Those boats were damn dangerous in the rivers, even without people shooting at you.

Fear is how you judge the risks. If you don’t have it, you don’t have any judgment. You control it because you have to, or you can’t function. It wears you out, and you pay a heavy price for the control. Too many people equate fear with panic or the startle reflex. If you’ve really dealt with the beast, you know that isn’t true.

You grandfather had his act together. You do what you have to do. If you are worried about medals, you want to run for office, or are trying to impress someone, neither of which is worth killing or dying over.

When you are in charge, beginning and ending a mission with the same number of people is as good as it gets.

They tried to keep my Grandfather out of WW2 after he had been mustard gassed because of a faulty mask in WW1. In the end, they realised he wasn’t going away, and that he would raise hell, so they struck a compromise and they allowed him to rejoin his old crew the Welsh Fusiliers as an Armorer and weapons-smith. 🙂 He tuned their sniper rifles to perfection and showed them how to shoot straight, as he did with me. 🙂 He won two Campaign Stars (1939-1945, France & Germany) he was also awarded the George Cross, as well as awards during WW1. He told me once that the only people who deserved and usually received a military awards were those who didn’t ever think of getting one. They just did their job and looked out for their comrades. He said that those who generally went out of their way in the hope of receiving an award, usually just ended up dead. 🙂 I asked him about what made someone brave. He thought for a long time, and I had the impression of him gazing far into the past, then he looked at me and said “Bravery comes from knowing what the right thing to do is, from being able to overcome fear, and not having any thought for yourself when your friends are in danger. It doesn’t mean being foolish. Getting yourself killed for no reason is not brave, it’s stupid.”. He also warned me about men who appear to know no fear. He said they were either very afraid and covering it up with bravado and would get me killed when the time for true bravery came, or was insane and would get those around him killed for no reason. He lost a leg in WW2 under a tank tread, sticking a limpet mine under a tiger tank. Which is how he got the GC. He saved a lot of people that day. 🙂

He used to take me to the ANZAC day parades and memorials as a child and taught me what it all meant. And I understood.

When the last ANZAC has passed, it is still necessary to remember that people were willing to sacrifice for their country. Even as much as we both complain about the military, if our countries were attacked, we would be ready to respond, no matter how limited that response might be. It’s the wars of choice that grate on the nerves.

I am surprised and very pleased to see so many young people including many teen’s and younger kids paying respects for a lost grandfather or some other reletive, or just because they want to know. And for the most part as far as I could see, they wanted to be there and they wanted to understand. It made me say a little prayer with pride to the fallen ones “See. It wasn’t for nothing. No matter what the history books say.

And THAT is the ANZAC spirit. It lives on, long after the last ANZAC has died.

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/anzac-cookies-recipe.html

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