When is a War “Right?”

What a difficult question!  Before war commences, the “cause” is the catalyst, and the terrible human death toll is subsequently reckoned upon its conclusion.

The poor soldier, his only qualification of death being his young age, fitness and country of birth.  His fate is decided and determined by the politicians, rulers or monarchy of that country.  This happens on both sides of any conflict and the ordinary soldier has no choice in the matter.  He does what he is told, or faces the consequences.

Looking back, some recent catastrophic wars have proved pointless.  World War One was about nothing at all.  The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie in Sarajevo sparked the whole thing off.  In reality, behind it all, lay decades of friction, hostility and conflict between major world powers, including Italy, France, Germany, Russia, and the British Empire, made complex by intertwined alliances and treaties.  It is a story of Militarism, Imperialism and Nationalism.

The cause of the disastrous Vietnam War was to stop the perceived threat held by America of Communism spreading out of North Vietnam into south east Asia.  Seemingly right at the time; but history concludes with the humiliating withdrawal of American forces from Saigon leading eventually to reunification of North and South Vietnam.

Millions upon millions of entirely innocent people lost their lives violently in these conflicts.  The pain and suffering was immense.  In addition was the huge destruction of property, which together with the vast and pointless waste of valuable natural resources leads one to reconsider whether war can ever be “right” or justifiable.

The cause of any war is worthy of deep study.  It is my belief that the cause of World War Two was to stop the power of evil spreading into the world by those countries not yet under its spell.  Proof, if ever required, being adequately demonstrated by the reversal of a nation of sophisticated, intelligent and democratic people into a condition of repression, fear, brutality and prejudice by the murderous Nazi regime.  The whole advance of this gargantuan idealistic cleverly driven by evil, warped propaganda and lies, masterminded by Hitler and his cronies.

World War Two was a war that was “Right”.  The tenet of any religion anywhere in the world is about the power of Good overcoming the power of evil.  World War Two, despite the heavy cost in terms of lives, property and resources was fundamentally justifiable.

The headstones to be found in Military Cemeteries throughout the world are representative of the cost of young lives.  The segregated war Cemeteries, from the American Military Cemetery at Colleville sur Mer above Omaha Beach, the British Military Cemetery at Bayeux, the Canadian Military Cemetery at Beny and the German Military Cemetery at LaCambe all depict the same indescribably sorrowful story of the deaths of men aged 18 to 25 who had their lives ripped from them.  In reality they were all the same, except they spoke different languages and had a particular country of birth.

D-Day, June 6^th 1944, Normandy, marked the beginning of the end of World War Two.  We all know the individual stories of what happened at Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Ste Mere Eglise, Pegasus Bridge and the battle for Caen.  The testament of the great numbers of pilgrims into Normandy today sparked by historical interest and media creations such as “Saving Private Ryan” and “Band of Brothers” pay tribute to those who served in that battle.

Young men are the true heroes of international conflict and we must always carry gratitude in our hearts for what they did.  For regardless of the rights or wrongs of a conflict, these men each fought with no less courage and conviction for their own side than any other soldier.  Fortunately, without the strife of those fighting under their banner of “Good” we can only imagine how we may be living our lives, if at all, today.