I write this post for my grandfather.  He fought in the Battle of the Bulge, (Golden Lion Battalion, I think).  His words forever color my opinion of war because of what he said about it.

When I would ask him about WWII he would say little.  Sometimes he would talk some about waving to German soldiers on the other side of the river, (Rhine?) while he patrolled on the Allied controlled side.  Or perhaps he would show me the elaborate cigarette dispensing wooden case carved by a German prisoner of war with my mother and grandmother's names etched in the sides.  Quite good work I recall!  Or maybe I would ask him about the wartime photos of him with a small dog.  He would always cloud up and say, "Nothing good ever happens in war"

As a high school student, I asked my grandfather whether he was upset that Jimmy Carter had granted amnesty to the draft dodgers in Canada.  His answer sticks with me to this day.  I know many will call him unpatriotic, a traitor or worse, but those that knew him, know he was a great patriot and what he said to me sticks with me. 

"If I knew then what I know now, I never would have gone." said my grandfather in a very serious tone.

  I asked what he meant and he made some cryptic references to those that killed RFK and JFK and Martin Luther King.  The answer only began to make sense years after he died.   Killing people because your government says you must is a terrible thing and makes you a pawn in their personal power and geo-political games.

I eventually became a card carrying Libertarian and was asked to sign an oath, "I will never advocate war to achieve political ends".  During this last war, Libertarians were split on Iraq, and I was shocked that so many could sign the oath and then support such an obvious political war.  In my heart, I was guided by my grandfather's words and perhaps lack of words on war.  Many have asserted that WWII was the last war that gave glory to its vets, but this is shallow and misguided. 

No war, ever imparted glory to the foot soldiers, maybe a general, politician or two, but foot soldiers only have the bond that they forged through the shared experience of passing through hell!

I miss you Poppy and hope that I have not dishonored you by posting your words here.  They are the same words that I now pass on to your great-grandchildren.

Love,

Anthony Watson