"Who's he," you ask? Well, Harry Patch was a Brit made part of history by circumstance and his willingness, as the "Last Tommy," to rather unabashedly describe war as what it might truly be: “the calculated and condoned slaughter of human beings."
The NY Times reports:
Thousands Mourn Britain’s Oldest Warrior
By JOHN F. BURNS and ALAN COWELL
WELLS, England — To the strains of the “Last Post,” and in the presence of soldiers from armies that had fought as both friend and foe, the funeral was held here Thursday for Harry Patch, the last British survivor of World War I living in this country...More:
There are already hundreds of news reports accessible via Google, but I'll include a link to one more, from the UK Telegraph.
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Nice to remember the last of a epic generation.The word "Hero" is used today too loosely.Here are some of my favorite quotes on heroism:
ReplyDeleteThe difference between heroes and cowards is one second longer.
There is nothing herioc about wanting to stay alive more than those around you.
And my favorite: Grandad were you a hero in the war? No, but I served in the company of heroes.