[Apologies if this has been previously diaried, I couldn't find any reference to it]
A picture speaks a thousand words. Many pictures tell a whole story, and the link that I post below tells an entire story that is both moving, haunting and provides a vivid image of the life of a young soldier serving in Iraq.
Veterans Day (or Remembrance Day, as I prefer to call it, given my years of living in the UK; or Armistice Day as it is called here) is a solemn occasion: but I think that it is not only about recalling the terrible loss of life in the abstract, it is also about reminding us of the humanity behind each solider: that every single one is and was a human being with dignity, feelings, doubts, fears, joys, frustrations, a soul. Only when we can remember, affirm and celebrate our common humanity can we as a society move forward in the quest for lasting peace.
Whatever the motives of the young man in the linked photo diary, I think we must not lose sight of these things. It is what binds us to one another. And it is what can undo us when we forget.
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