'There is No Perfect Bullet'

- A tribute to all who served & gave their lives during and after the 'Great War' -

World War One – [1914 - 1918]  Lest We Forget

Have you noticed that all those who fumbled nervously to fix their bayonets in the chill of dawn before yesterdays charge are no longer here?  They must have joined all those who went over the top and into the grey mist, the day before. Have you noticed that we don’t seem to see the faces of new replacements anymore?

You and I are all that is left of one thousand men, after this weeks push to gain the hill.  They’ve sent us out each day to die, but we remain here still.  Have you noticed the eerie silence that occurs when shells explode around us as we run, yelling at their lines? Within eight hundred yards of barren ground, no perfect bullet the fallen found, to kill all the fear within their minds.  Have you noticed men all seem to die in slow motion, when the bullet tears through their soul?  They say you don’t feel any pain and you wake up feeling whole.  But I don’t understand how that can be.  On the faces of those who died within the mist, I’ve seen only their disappointment and agony.  Maybe today we will meet the bullet that can take us away from this hellish place.  Though maybe we did that yesterday; as I’ve just noticed why, I couldn’t see your face.

You and I are all that is left of one hundred thousand men, who fumble in the chill of every dawn and charge the mist over and over again.  You and I are the lucky souls who dodged the bullet, the shells, the gas, the pain.  And have you noticed we’re still here alive, unlike all those fallen men? I remember each yard of yesterdays bayonet charge, but it’s been one hundred years since then!

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With time, it matters not which side a warrior fought and/or died on – he was called upon to be a warrior and as such, deserves the same respect that we afford those who fought and/or died on our side of the conflict.  With time, we learn to respect the true warrior and with that respect, we can honour the true man, who was the warrior.  To do so honourably, then we must also respect the true value of his sacrifice made, which includes the extent of those lost dreams and aspirations he had for his life and for those who shared, or hoped to share his world, his future…[Rob Pearldiver]

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