Civilization ?

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This article may or may not be related to the current political situation, but to me it is just interesting.  You have been warned!

I am reading a book by David Stick called GRAVEYARD OF THE ATLANTIC, Shipwrecks of the North Carolina Coast.  There is a chapter in this book dealing with German submarines operating off the North Carolina and Virginia coast during the World War I.  The story that caught my attention was the story of U-151, which laid mines and torpedoed cargo ships traveling that route.  She was commanded by Korvettenkapitan Von Nostitz und Janckendorf.  The U-151 attacked the British steamer Harpathian bound from Plymouth, England to Newport News.  The sub torpedoed the ship, the captain gave the order to abandon ship, and an injured man from the ship was treated for his injuries on the sub while supplies were passed from the sub to each of the lifeboats from the ship.  After sinking another ship, the Vindeggen, the sub towed the lifeboats with it rather than leaving them adrift.  Later that day, the sub sighted the Norwegian steamship Heinrich Lund stopped her, and gave her the choice of taking aboard the survivors it was now towing from two previous sinkings or being sunk.  They made the obvious choice, and sixty-eight people from two sunken vessels went safely home.

In contrast, U-152 commanded by Kapitanleutnant Franz headed for our coast left for our coast, but before the sub got here, she received orders to return home.  God smiled on us that day.  Although most of the other submarine commanders were concerned about the safety of the people aboard the ships they sank, Franz was not.  On his way to American, he sank two ships.  One he raked with shellfire, ignoring a white flag of surrender, and killing 215 of the 239 men on board.  The second, he attacked against orders and sent the nineteen survivors adrift in mid-ocean.

My point is this, every country has citizens that are noble and principled and citizens that are rogues.  Ninety-nine point nine per cent of our soldiers are honorable men, and we need to remember that when we hear of the occasional incident that occurs in the fog of war.  War is a horrible thing, but there are times when it is necessary to stand up to the bully on the block.  When we do it, even though it may not seem like our fight, we are ultimately protecting our own safety by removing a bully. 

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This page contains a single entry by Granny G published on September 17, 2008 1:21 PM.

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