With over 7000 threads, a lot great material lies buried in the Darkest Reaches. These represent what the community has agreed are some of the best SP:WaW threads to date.
Originally posted by Les the Sarge 9-1 One thing that I havent seen said yet
The people I knew in the service were guys that thought about the unit the "other" guy was important.
But with civilians its all about "me". Its not about "us" or the company, its just what's in it for me.
"My" wages, "My" seniority, "My" hours.
I have long lost touch with the people I knew in the service, but friends in uniform are a world apart from "just friends".
"Just friends" will buy you a beer, but will they really do anything for you when it gets ugly.
I pity civilians, I really do. Most haven't got a clue what its like to have "real" buddies.
You don't have to like your buddies you just have to be willing to risk all to help them and they are buddies because you know they'll do the same when the chips are down. Soldiering is not a job that is built on hate it is built on love. You love your nation, home, and buddies. You feed off the hate that there is when the chips are down but you join up and serve because of love.
That's what my uncles and grandpa taught me and it is how I tried to serve. I never saw the elephant and I am glad. I hope one day people spend as much time worrying about helping their neighbor as they do in finding ways to kill him.
This is a subject that comes up all the time I have found and I think it is good that people in this hobbie do talk about it.
I also have not had to witness a best friend dying as his lifes fluids seeped out of him or watch my home town be torn down by shell fire or bombs. No "sane" man would.
I enjoy this hobby for many reasons. First my father and many uncles were in WWII, I had cousins in Korea and Vietnam. I was lucky in the fact that all of them came home! Sadly they are all gone now except the one that had been in Nam. I play alot of these games to honor them in a way. I play these games as I have a never dying urge to see evil defeated.
I also play these games because I like to see things "blow-up" and I have always been infactuated with the toys of war!
But the thing I am always glad of is the simple fact that they are just Games! All I have "killed" is either cardboard counters, die cast metal ships or pixels on a crt screen.
My prayer is that this is all it will ever be........
Yes , I too had long reflected after playing SP for a while...
which reasons go behind my passion...?
Am I on the right when I 'play' where other couldn't live in peace ?
This happened to me the first time I realized what really was the war...hell , death and desperation , great hope , life and ideals ,experience , void , rage , fear , spirit of honour and friendship as maybe never before , doom and piety , pain and defet...
That's why I never played for score...
So I found my reasons when i say : Conoscere la guerra per amare la pace !
(Know the War to love the Peace..)
it's a sort of background that never expires...we have choosen in some way to be the Guardians of this perpetuum remembering..
Delete the s,c, and e, off of that, and you get the real message, "hadn't studied history 'in' high school. Of course taking the word 'history' out of that sentence would probably be even more accurate (hadn't studied in high school).
Offtopic, but have any of you seen the 'Jaywalking' parts of "the Tonight show" with Jay Leno? OK, granted, the probably take the worst cases, but it kinda scares me that people can be so blissfully ignorant, naive and yet be eligible to vote.
Example: He once asked (Americans in downtown LA, I think)what countries won WWII?, and they couldn't even get that right Those who do not know their history are bound to repeat it! Just imagine what kind of president they would elect... oh wait. Nevermind
Sorry my American friends, just reporting what is in print here
Carl Sagan's book The Demon Haunted World
(don't read this if you get angry easy though, some of what he says won't make you very happy)
Full 50% of American adults as of 1996 (that's not 1896) are currently unaware we are travelling around the sun (as opposed to it travelling around us).
AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! but the Americans have nuclear weapons.
Alas I am willing to assume that a man as smart as Carl Sagan was, would not be guilty of quoting an eroneous detail additionally.
Now you know why, while I support the American desire to stomp the hell out of terrorist friendly countries, I am not overly fond of Bush's desire to build his Missile shield. Stupidity is open to all regardless of socio economic position.
But to be fair and not seen as anti American, while our students are a lot smarter than their US counter parts, twice as good as a US student still leaves Canada infested with a lot of dangerously uneducated youths. Most of my young friends can't even tell me much about the Gulf let alone something dim and distant as WW2.
Our youths rarely even want to go to the rememberance day services let alone understand why its a day we should not be forgetting.
I LIKE that my life bothers them,
Why should I be the only one bothered by it eh.
Originally posted by Les the Sarge 9-1 Sorry my American friends, just reporting what is in print here
Carl Sagan's book The Demon Haunted World
Full 50% of American adults as of 1996 (that's not 1896) are currently unaware we are travelling around the sun (as opposed to it travelling around us).
And fully 85% of American teens believe it revolves around them.
Gotta be careful pushing radical theories like that sun business Les... Look what it got Coperenicus...
Wow.. I just spent an hour reading all of this. I am stunned at the depth, and compassion shown towards MEN who DIED in comabt for whatever their home nation deemed as a Just Cause. There was no "Jap" or "Hun" bashing, no Viet Cong cracks.. just emotion towards the men on all sides of conflicts who simply went, fought, and died, many never knowing the full reason or Big Picture thinking that sent them to their deaths.
I have accomplished many things so far in my life, but I find I do not feel like sharing them with people. I share my triumphs and failures with my family and closest friends, but to an outsider, you wouldn not know if I was a prince or a pauper.
The ONLY thing I show outward pride in is my military service. I server in the US Army during President Ronald Reagan's second term. I did the training and came out as an Airborne RANGER assigned to the 3rd batt. 75th Infantry Regiment, as an 11Bravo (Light Infantryman). It was all I ever wanted to do. Never thought of a different unit, different branch, or even a different MOS. My Grandfather was 75th Infantry at Normandy, and my Father was 82nd in Viet Nam as part of a A-Detachment. It was destiny of sorts.
I fully understand the difference between being a civilian and being in one of the most elite infantry groups on Earth. In the US Army, NOBODY messed with you if you wore the Black Beret. As a civilian, I would actually be teased, and called vulgar terms meaning I was queer simply because i wore a beret. The physical and mental cost that was paid in blood and sweat to earn the RIGHT to wear that never occured to this mental midgets. A complete ignorance of the symbolism, or commitment to excellence required to do the job the beret denoted. I actually sent my uniforms out after I was discharged, got them cleaned, and put them away for good over 10 years ago. I was actually EMBARASSED to have people see a picture of me in my beret! I never dreamed I could be made to feel SHAME for something like that! I was a child during Viet Nam, but just the site of that beret would cause people to blame be for every trumped up, bogus thing they could think of!
I took part in the Panama Invasion, and the Grenada ops in the 80's, as well as some fo the stuff that happened in Central America with the Contras and all that mess. I have seen combat up close and personal. When it comes to wargamming, I chose Aircraft sims, and games such as Steel panthers because they do not realostically depict the blood and gore of death. SPWAW is a sterile game in that aspect. An inanimate Sherman tanks gets smoked by German 88 gun, poof! thats it, counters on a computer. I dont like FPS style games due to the programmers need to add as much blood and gore into the game as possible, I dont understand the mindset that begs for more gore, and them more, and themmore. it borders on mental illness in my opinion. I am no longer in the Military due to a wound i was given in an unnamed country in Central America. I took a 7.62x39mm round in the back and it cost my half a lung, and a fragment still lodged in my spine, so my jumping days are over. I took an out, and went to college on Uncle Sam. I dont regret leaving, sicne I would have never been happy again as anything other than being a RANGER.
I enjoy the tactics required for proper Tank command. As Light Infantry I saw more armor in movies than in the military, and Tanks, aircraft and warships have always fascinated me. This is my way of enjoying and admiring those who DID win at Midway and Antwerp , and ackmoledging what it took to make it happen. The brains, the talent, and sheer know how required to be an Armor General, or a CV Task Force Admiral.
btw.. I took my Uniforms out on 9/11/01.. put them on and drove to MacDill AFB. I stood at the gate for 4 hours with 20 other men in dress uniform from all services. All retired.. from ancient to young. We just stood there, never said much.. just stood there and saluted the men and women scrambling into the base that horrible morning. I will NEVER put my beret away again, for ANY **** BODY! It means far more today than it ever did before.
rawink, don't be sorry - it is a great peice and from the heart!
Personaly I am proud of you and salute you and all others that have served and do serve this country!
And don't ever - ever be ashamed of your bret ever again! Any lame assed American that would treat one of our vets that way needs an enema with a flame thrower!! And I would be glad to administer it!
Those who do not know their history are bound to repeat it! Just imagine what kind of president they would elect... oh wait. Nevermind 
