War and the pity of war

This Wednesday saw the 90th anniversary of the start of World War I, reminding us of that doomed generation of 1914 and the prophetic words of Siegfried Sassoon, war poet,

"Your theme should be war and the pity of war."

This week also saw the final Commemoration Service of the Burma Star Association, which has poignant memories for me. My father won the Burma Star operating unarmed as a Chaplain behind the Japanese lines. So at the service I remembered every Burma Star veteran, whether they survived or not, since they all suffered from the ordeal.

There is such a thing as a just war but I wonder how many conflicts since 1914 come into that category? Although my own periods of active service were but footnotes to the withdrawal from Empire, nonetheless they have left their legacy. Along with other ex-servicemen and women I am cautious about how our forces are used - for instance in Iraq. I also rejoice that the prospect of carnage in Europe decreases year by year.

Maybe these other lines of Sassoon's strike a correct, albeit bitter, note for this anniversary:

"You sad faced crowds with glittering eye

Who cheer when soldier-boys march by

Go home and hope you'll never know

The hell where youth and laughter go"