Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/08/21

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Subject: Re: [Leica] WW II V2 rocket sites update
From: "Alan Hull" <hull@telia.com>
Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 02:40:42 +0200
References: <FNEJJHFHEKJEDPNPNCFEIEKECHAA.cyberdog@attglobal.net> <3.0.6.32.20010820185721.00928310@pop.infi-net.mindspring.com>

Marc James Small replied to my remark that


> >WW1 was when armies faced off against armies.  WWII was when they
prefered civilian targets.

with

> Almost 300,000 US military personnel died in combat operations in the
> Second World War.  I would suggest that a retraction and apology is in
order.

Don't be ridiculous.  Combat operations also included bomber raids against
many civilian cities.  Remember the Dresden fire storm which incinerated
thousands of woman and children.  Remember how the US Army dropped nuclear
bombs on two Japanese cities. Those were "Combat Operations".

I will not enter a numbers count here, fill in your own figures.  WWII men
in uniform implemented holocaust.  Their submarines sank unarmed merchant
ships.  Their bombers in Blitzkrieg attacked civilian targets.  Decimated
village reprisal hostages.  etc. etc.  It is a fact that the military killed
and maimed more civilians than they killed other soldiers.  It was safer to
be in uniform.

I have no idea what I am supposed to apologise for.  What I said was that
WWII targeted and deliberately killed civilians as a matter of policy.  This
did not happen during WWI where the armies were facing each other almost
from day one.  In fact I do believe that more poeple died in a few month
from the Flu Pandemic in 1918(?) than all military casualties on all sides
during the full length of the war.

What fascinates me most about WWI is that it is the pinnacle of both human
stupidity and human tenacity.  To me, WWII was about "evil".  It broke the
code of honour that a soldier does not earn medals killing civilians (or
survivers in a lifeboat).

Sorry for the off-topic, but this is a response to MJS high-horsing request.
And I swear I will not respond further.

Alan

In reply to: Message from Marc James Small <msmall@roanoke.infi.net> (Re: [Leica] WW II V2 rocket sites update)