To the Editor,
In recognition of Remembrance Day, we often hear or read the phrase, “They gave their lives.” That phrase has bothered me for many years.
After having been drafted into the military in 1966 and having served the required 18 months, I have found that with only two exceptions, no soldier, airman or sailor gives away his life. Those who died were the victims of either enemy or friendly action. One of those two exceptions is based on the Biblical truth that no man has shown greater love for his fellow human beings than to lay down his life for them by using his own body to protect comrades from immediate danger, and the second by committing suicide to prevent revealing classified information to the enemy.
War is evil. The god of this world sows distrust, disharmony, greed and hatred, all of which can result in war from which there is no glory, only sorrow and misery. A more appropriate phrase is, “They lost their lives in devoted service to their country and nation.”
Anthonie den Boef,
Nanoose Bay, BC