BERTRAND Russell, the British philosopher, said war does not determine who is right – only who is left.
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As we commemorate the Anzac centenary tomorrow we remember the horrific casualties of WWI so graphically recalled by Wagga RSL Sub-Branch’s David Williams at an impressive The Grange Lifestyle Village commemoration service this week.
During WWI more than 420,000 Australians enlisted. More than 60,000 were killed or died of wounds (14.3 per cent of those who enlisted); some 155,000 (37 per cent) were wounded, many more than once but a lot returned to the battlefield, again and again.
Australia has fought 14 wars since the Boer War and it is well nigh impossible to get an accurate financial assessment of what that involvement has cost our nation; our governments don’t answer those questions.
Even the latest figure available (April 2013) puts the US involvement in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts at about $6 trillion and rising as the on-going costs of veterans’ medical expenses, disability compensation and the cost of replacing military equipment and weapons is met.
What have we really learnt? Perhaps former Kapooka Commandant, Col David Kibbey, offered an explanation in an interview in The Daily Advertiser in 1994: “Protect what we have. It is vital our youth have a greater sense of value for their country and the opportunities it offers. To think we don’t need to protect ourselves is lunacy”.
Kibbey went on to advocate a compulsory six-months national service scheme in the form of a youth development program that would demand arduous physical activity, reasonably rigid discipline and teaching of the nation’s values.
It seems in this time of the “gap” year for students that such a scheme has merit, especially in recent times when we hear of youths as young as 14 being apprehended on security charges.
While the Anzac legend is not forgotten, neither must our future governments neglect those who continue to serve, as was the case in regard to our Vietnam veterans.
Or, as General George Washington, the first US President put it: “The willingness of future generations to serve in our military will be directly dependent upon how we treated those who have served in the past”.
- Graham Gorrel