44 Replies to “A Soldier Of The Great War”

  2. Seems he became a pacifist. Would he have remained so had he been forced to speak German?

  3. Douglas McArthur in his address at West Point…
    “Old soldiers don’t die…they just fad away……”

  4. He became a pacifist? What a dick. Not withstanding the contribution he made then, what that says is he would rather see Nazism sweep the world now than fight.
    The good Lord says to turn the other cheek; students of anatomy will note that humans have but two cheeks, which implies on cheek turning at most.

  6. “Despite the fame his military service (and longevity) brought him, Mr. Choules became a pacifist later in life, refusing to glorify war.”
    this is the mark of a true warrior.
    fully understands the grisly violent nature of war, does his job anyway and REFUSES to glorify it unlike the armchair gung-ho crowd populating the right wing.
    by the way sassquashed, the precise quote (which I have seen on video) is “old soldiers never die, they just fade away”.
    McArthur made the mistake of thinking he had greater authority than President Truman.

  7. What a great generation of adults!
    What a pathetic shadow of thier stature we now live in.
    Word up homeboy.

  8. I think most soldiers that saw action are pacifists. You do the job but most people do not have a desire to kill or be killed.
    That does not diminish the reality he joined up at 14 and defended his country.
    Job well done now it’s time to rest.

  10. Good men all of them, we need to get back the pride and responsibility that generations before Turdough had in Canada, and we are well on our way with Mondays results. Just imagine Andrew Coyne or Robert Fife thrust into combat, oh the visual of Bugs Bunny feet under Fife is too funny.

  11. “Despite the fame his military service (and longevity) brought him, Mr. Choules became a pacifist later in life, refusing to glorify war.”
    Like so many Veterans I’ve known. They did their job when they had to but saw too many friends and family killed to ever glorify war.
    The WW1 Veterans I knew couldn’t or wouldn’t talk very much about that one,unlike the Second WW Veterans who usually had lots of tales about their comrades.
    Rest in peace,sir.

  12. “old soldiers never die, they just fade away”.

    What the hell does that mean?
    –
    Anyway…
    McArthur had the right idea.
    Kick the Chinese ass,
    Make them buy 14 trillion in used American dollars,
    and set up American owned Nike sweat shops.

  13. My great-uncle joined the Royal Marines in WW1 at age 14 as a bugle boy. He too witnessed great tragedies during his service and became a cheerleader for peace.
    They are all to be respected and admired for their selfless sacrifice.

  14. See that big white seaman’s cap and the big square blue collar around his neck? A three year old kid could tell you that he was a sailor, not a soldier. And don’t try to tell me that the word soldier is a generic term for servicemen from all branches of the armed services because it isn’t. The word ‘servicemen’ is reserved for that.

  15. at the going down of the Sun & in the morn,
    We Will Remember Them
    Lest We Forget, Lest We Forget.

  16. Lots of people seem to have reading problems.
    A ‘pacifist’ though he served in the Navy until 1956. Refusing to march in Remembrance Day parades does not a pacifist make.
    As an aside, dc, there were a _lot_ of sailors fighting in the trenches. Just about every country involved had Marines, Naval Reserves, fighting their opponents. Including, I might add, the protagonist of the book this thread is named after.

  17. Reading this brought a tear to my eye.
    The NYT should hang there heads in shame for twisting the truth. (surprise, surprise)
    I SALUTE YOU.
    Rest in peace,sir. Lest We Forget.

  18. …and I will add that the only reason we are FREE is because of brave men like Claude Stanley Choules.

  19. @Lance
    Putting a licence plate around my neck and running down the street making “vroom-vroom” noises doesn’t make me a truck anymore than putting a sailor in a trench makes him a soldier. My point still stands. It is erroneous at best and insulting at worst to refer to him as a soldier. In fact, the Royal Navy and its Commonwealth brethren have a special word reserved for soldiers, pongoes, for where soldiers go, the pong (a quaint British word for smell) goes.

  20. Wasn’t it McArthur who also said that it is the soldier who prays for peace for it is he who sees the horrors of war?

  21. Valid point dc. You may forgive most Canadians that grew up during the urnalfication of the Canadian (barely armed) Forces. Gone were soldiers, sailors and airmen. With everyone in forest green, those serving gave up on trying to point out the distinction to civilians and the media. The only distinction made in those days was that a blue helmet/beret made you a “peacekeeper”.

  22. I agree with a previous poster who’s comment that our generation gives so little back. We, the sons and daughters, of WW II vets take so much for granted and have even increased that ‘entitlement’ philosophy to our children.
    We have just finished an election where the over riding theme was ‘What’s in it for me?’ Not what is the right thing or what can the country afford. Let the other guy worry about that.

  23. Royal Navy and its Commonwealth brethren have a special word reserved for soldiers… ~ dc
    I guess then you’d be happier with the term “fish-head” (affectionately).

  24. Sharpshooter @ 9:00 . . . . Thanks for correcting that misquote and spelling mistake. It upsets me that people don’t go to the effort of knowing what they’re writing about. You saved me the work.
    Fearless Leader @ 9:21 . . . . It was the title of a song that had been popular when MacArthur was a very young man.

  25. The sailer has gone home. to those that pay respects for Mr.Choules, kudos and to those that wish to chasdise him..for shame.
    As a boy of 14, he joined the navy, then he served again in world war 2. Who knows what sights he may have seen. he served, he didn’t run away, he wasn’t a draft dodger, he didn’t coware.
    After a period of time, people can and do mellow, after service some grow beards,(because now we can) after a period of time and depending on the violent experiences. Some are haunted and wish to make ammends, he didn’t embrace the enemy, he didn’t burn his flag, he became a pacifist because he no longer believed in violence. However, I believe if some scumbag had broke into his home and threatened his family with death, his training would have returned in the blink of an eye. I know many that have ‘mellowed’ since service and combat, but training IS training and it only leaves in death.
    Bless you Sir, you have served well and enjoyed the blessings of life.

  26. I wouldn’t judge him because he became a pacifist after seeing the horrors of war. When I was a boy my best friend’s Grandfather lived with him and his parents. He was a survivor of ww1. He had a metal plate in his head as part of his skull had been blown away in the trenches. Two or three times a year he would go off his rocker. The old Police Chief was the only one strong enough to subdue him. But every one loved him and knew and understood a little about the special hell he had been through. And stood by him until the end. He gave a lot he gave it all. More so than many who were killed outright and quickly. God Bless Those Young Men, For the Tremendous Sacrifices They Made For Canada and all of us today even those Ungrateful Few That Have Much To Learn.

  27. @Texaas Canuck
    I, too, blame unification (or more precisely, I blame the Liberals for unification). I recall going to a Remembrance Day service in Victoria and challenging my brother’s girlfriend to point out the sailors. With everyone dressed in rifle green, army style uniforms she had no clue. It also doesn’t help that the term Canadian Armed Forces (and the short form Canadian Forces) is used to refer to anyone in uniform regardless of service affiliation. People seem to equate the word ‘Armed’ with ‘Army’. BTW, have you signed the petition to restore the titles Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force? With a Conservative majority the chances have never been better to undo some of the damage caused by unification.
    @glasnost
    I welcome the terms fish-head, anchor-cranker or anything else you have to offer for they indicate a distinction between service branches and a rivalry that can only come with pride in one’s service.

  28. Rest In Peace, Sailor
    I have a similar picture of my Grandfather , @barely 16 in WWI ( He was a runner-Green Howards) mounted with his medals and his WWII picture on the other side(He landed at Normandy on DDay-2nd Armour div) . It hangs proudly on my wall as I got them as the eldest son of the eldest son.
    He to became a pacifist and refused to go to church after he came back from number 2, saying he couldnt understand how God could let that happen. He didnt discourage others from going , but his faith was shaken to the core.
    PS. the Forces wear distinct uniforms again.

  29. I don’t know Jess, when the Roman centurian came to Christ and asked Him to heal his servant and then left immediately after the request in the knowledge request would be met. Christ marveled and commented on how He had never seen such faith. To me it shows that perhaps Christ had an understanding, if not a special compassion(?) for a soldier and what his duty involves.

  30. @Jess
    I respectfully disagree. Christians can serve and do the Lord’s work to wit:
    1) Padre John Weir Foote, V.C.
    Chaplain of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry. With utter disregard for his own safetey, and under intense enemy fire, Padre Foote saved the lives of many soldiers during the Dieppe landings. Furthermore, Padre Foote refused to leave the beach when the invasion force withdrew instead preferring to stay and minister to his men. For his efforts, he receievd the Victoria Cross and spent the rest of the war as a P.O.W.
    2) Desmond Doss, Congressional Medal of Honor
    A committed Seventh-Day Adventist Christian and conscientious objector, Doss refused to carry a weapon or kill any other human being. Instead, Doss served as a U.S. Army Medic. In the action for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor, Doss, at great personal risk to himself and in full view of enemy fire, single-handedly lowered 75 of his wounded comrades down an escarpment to safety.
    “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” – John 15:13
    I can think of no greater circumstances in which a man may be called upon to do this than in war.

  31. …a rivalry that can only come with pride in one’s service…
    Agreed. I was proud to be a crab-fat.

  32. @cal2
    Yes, they do, and they carry with them the ridiculous, bureaucratic moniker ‘Distinctive Environmental Uniforms’. Every other country in the world dreses their service men and women in naval, army or air force uniforms but not here.

  33. @cal2
    Yes, they do, and they carry with them the ridiculous, bureaucratic moniker ‘Distinctive Environmental Uniforms’. Every other country in the world dreses their service men and women in naval, army or air force uniforms but not here
    ignore the corny name
    the colours are all back and berets for army, peaks for air. caps for navy.and highland glens as well.
    sure they dont have putties for the navy but if you can see colours you can see the forces

  34. I see. So Christ dying for our sins covered all sins except for the sin of saving the lives of others in war?
    I’ve read plenty of stories of self-sacrifice not involving the coercion of war. Have you read the Old Testament? Plenty of stories there of God involving Himself in some pretty bloody battles. Now I won’t go so far as to say that God condones war but even He recognised that war is an unfortunate component of human existence and that human beings have the right to defend themselves from the aggression and misdeeds of other humans. Had God instructed the Israelites to simply turn the other cheek they would have been wiped from the earth and the seed of David would not have existed to die on the cross. Following your logic, one can only draw the conclusion that it’s okay for Jews to engage in warfare to protect their existence but not for Christians (because dictators such as Hitler can be won over with force of logic and Munich Peace Accords).

  35. They sure don’t make ’em like they used to (at least not in such great numbers). RIP my good man.

  36. Jess, being a soldier is pretty well much a thankless job. It is darned if you do, darned if you don’t. One minute you’re a baby killer and then the next a hero. One is a useless dolt who couldn’t get a “real” job hence the hitch in the army. One may have to do the unspeakable in order for good people to sleep sound at night. A soldier has to play the balancing act of staying out of the sight but be at the forefront to protect.
    As for the Roman soldier, as I read that passage, I gleaned that perhaps Christ may of given that soldier the highest compliment by commenting on his faith, not condoning war. As for the soldiers at the crucifixion, they were undoubtably ordered to do the task, some may of relished it, some may of despise of having to follow orders. How do we know, that with every blow of the hammer, the soldier asked for forgiveness? Or perhaps laughed with each strike? Maybe the centurion who asked for the healing oversaw the crucifixion. Back then a soldier pretty well have to do what they were told, not much leeway given.
    Like I said…it can be a thankless job.

  38. From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
    Just War (2307-17)
    All citizens and all governments are obliged to work for the avoidance of war. Despite this admonition of the Church, it sometimes becomes necessary to use force to obtain the end of justice. This is the right, and the duty, of those who have responsibilities for others, such as civil leaders and police forces. While individuals may renounce all violence those who must preserve justice may not do so, though it should be the last resort, “once all peace efforts have failed.” [Cf. Vatican II, Gaudium et spes 79, 4]
    As with all moral acts the use of force to obtain justice must comply with three conditions to be morally good. First, the act must be good in itself. The use of force to obtain justice is morally licit in itself. Second, it must be done with a good intention, which as noted earlier must be to correct vice, to restore justice or to restrain evil, and not to inflict evil for its own sake. Thirdly, it must be appropriate in the circumstances. An act which may otherwise be good and well motivated can be sinful by reason of imprudent judgment and execution.
    In this regard Just War doctrine gives certain conditions for the legitimate exercise of force, all of which must be met:
    “1. the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain;
    2. all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective;
    3. there must be serious prospects of success;
    4. the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. The power of modern means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition” [CCC 2309].
    The responsibility for determining whether these conditions are met belongs to “the prudential judgment of those who have responsibility for the common good.” The Church’s role consists in enunciating clearly the principles, in forming the consciences of men and in insisting on the moral exercise of just war.
    The Church greatly respects those who have dedicated their lives to the defense of their nation. “If they carry out their duty honorably, they truly contribute to the common good of the nation and the maintenance of peace. [Cf. Gaudium et spes 79, 5]” However, she cautions combatants that not everything is licit in war. Actions which are forbidden, and which constitute morally unlawful orders that may not be followed, include:
    – attacks against, and mistreatment of, non-combatants, wounded soldiers, and prisoners;
    – genocide, whether of a people, nation or ethnic minorities;
    – indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants.
    Given the modern means of warfare, especially nuclear, biological and chemical, these crimes against humanity must be especially guarded against.
    In the end it is not enough to wage war to achieve justice without treating the underlying causes. “Injustice, excessive economic or social inequalities, envy, distrust, and pride raging among men and nations constantly threaten peace and cause wars. Everything done to overcome these disorders contributes to building up peace and avoiding war” [CCC 2317]. The Church has no illusions that true justice and peace can be attained before the Coming of the Lord. It is the duty of men of good will to work towards it, nonetheless. In the words of the spiritual dictum, we should work as if everything depended upon our efforts, and pray as if everything depended upon God.

  39. Wow. The man served his country and by extension the free world, for over 40 years. By age 100 he was more than entitled to think whatever he wanted.
    I salute him and wish him Godspeed.

  40. jess, here are some words of Christ:
    Mark 12: 13-17
    “And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to entrap him in his talk./ And they came and said to him, ‘Teacher, we know that you are true, and care for no man; for you do not regard the position of men, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?/ Should we pay them, or should we not?’ But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, ‘Why put me to the test? Bring me a coin, and let me look at it.’/ And they brought one. And he said to them, ‘Whose likeness and inscription is this?’ They said to him, ‘Caesar’s.’/ Jesus said to them, ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ And they were amazed at him.”
    Jesus was not of this world, but he recognized that mere humans are. Yes, war grieves Him. But wouldn’t the agenda of the Nazis and the Muslim terrorists also grieve Him? (Remember, jess, they don’t know what mercy is.) Would Jesus think it quite OK, if those who had the military ability—the only one that works against the wickedness of evil ideologues—to stop the slaughter, turned their backs, walked away, and allowed millions to be murdered? I’m a mom: violence turns my stomach. (I put spiders under a glass and take then outside.) But, if some evil person were trying to murder my children (or another person I loved), I’d be willing to wade in and do the evil doers violence, just as my father did in WW II, when he fought in Holland. This willingness, jess, to use violence to defend the innocent does not preclude mercy, as you seem to suggest.
    There is nothing in the Christian faith, or what Jesus said, that dictates that people cannot defend themselves. Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone were nice? They aren’t. As George Orwell said—two versions: “People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf”, and “Those who ‘abjure’ violence can only do so because others are committing violence on their behalf.”
    Freedom is not free, jess. Aren’t you fortunate that others are willing to pay the price for you to enjoy your freedom to be dead wrong?
    Thank you for your service, Claude Stanley Choules: “Rest eternal grant unto him, O Lord. And may light perpetual shine upon him. May he rest in peace.”

  41. First of all, we live in an imperfect world and, I know, as a fellow Christian, you’d agree with me that we’re all sinners. Our actions, therefore, are always going to be imperfect and fall very short of the glory of God. War is one of those very imperfect human endeavours—but sometimes it’s THE LESSER OF EVILS. That’s often the best we poor, weak humans can manage. (Jesus had/has mercy on our many weaknesses.)
    And something else you seem to have overlooked: there’s JUSTICE, jess, as well as mercy. Don’t discount that.
    If the Allies had not fought a just war against Hitler, most of the free world would now be living under the subjugation of an evil regime, that would show no mercy at all. If, you really value mercy, as you say you do, know that, under the Nazis (or, in the future, under sharia law), mercy would/will be in very short supply, not only for the hundreds of millions of people allowed to live, but, especially, for those millions, like the Jews (and, likely, Christians), who would be murdered by the state.
    How would that be working out?
    (Another thing to remember, jess: the Nazis and the Muslim terrorists were/are actually HAPPY to fight, kill, and torture.)
    Politicians kept appeasing Hitler and he kept brutally oppressing and taking over free countries. Please let me know how you think the Allies should have dealt with Hitler’s raw aggression—in a way that mercy and justice were served.

  42. Well, jess, I’ve tried to be both reasonable and charitable. Neither appears to have any purchase with you.
    Kyrie eleison and good night.

  43. “As you know, Hitler’s actions (in his mind and in the German peoples’ minds) took place as a result of humiliations to Germany as a result of WWI.”
    jess is a horrible troll and I wouldn’t normally engage with her – nor am I likely to respond to her here – but this is a sickening slander (as was jess’ comparison of Gitmo to a Nazi concentration camp).
    The responsibility for the Holocaust, and Hitler’s partial destruction of Europe, does not fall on the framers of the Treaty of Versailles. Think about what you’re saying.
    And heck, even if it did, does that mean that the “Christian” thing to do would have been to let Hitler enslave Europe and torture millions to death? That’s what Jesus would have wanted?
    That’s rhetorical, don’t respond.
    RIP Mr. Choules.

  44. If he wanted to be a pacifist at 110, what the hell, he earned that. Had he lived in Canada, it is likely the NDP would have hired him to run.

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