A century-old letter tells the story of a soldier’s character and his sacrifice.
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By Julia Dye, Ph.D.
The letter below was written by Adrian Edwards, a young lawyer from Illinois, who was killed in France during World War I. Just before starting for the battle line, Edwards wrote the following letter, which was to be forwarded to his mother in case he did not return. Weeks later, his mother received the letter.
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Somewhere in France
My dear Mother:
I am about to go into battle and have instructed the company clerk to send you this letter in case I become a casualty, hence the receipt of this letter by you will indicate that I am either with God or a prisoner in the hands of the enemy.
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I am about to go into battle and have instructed the company clerk to send you this letter in case I become a casualty, hence the receipt of this letter by you will indicate that I am either with God or a prisoner in the hands of the enemy.
Since I will never become a prisoner of the foe if I remain conscious and able to fight, it is doubtful if I will ever be an inmate of a German prison camp.
Do not grieve that I am among the missing, but rather rejoice that you have given a son in sacrifice to make the greatest military caste of all time lay down the sword — to save civilization, to prevent future wars, to punish the Germans, who have disregarded every law of God and mankind, whose only god is the god of war and military force — and to make the world safe for democracy.
I desire that you view the matter in the light and spirit of the Spartan mothers of old, who, when their sons went forth to battle for freedom and their native land, said to their sons: “Either come home proudly bearing your shield before you, or upon it.”
War was absolutely necessary on the part of my country, and although I was thirty-four years old and nobody expected me to go, yet someone had to go; someone must make the sacrifice, some mother must lose her son.
In the light of these facts, and knowing our country’s great need, I volunteered, and have never for one moment regretted my decision, and I will not, although my life and a useful career must end.
Life is not the highest boon of existence. There are ideals that are superhuman, interests greater than life itself, for which it is worth while fighting, suffering, and dying.
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Life is not the highest boon of existence. There are ideals that are superhuman, interests greater than life itself, for which it is worth while fighting, suffering, and dying.
Good-bye, Mother; I will see you in the next world. You may know I died fighting for you, my country, and all that life holds dear.
Your son
Adrian
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Choosing sacrifice so others will have freedom. That’s what warriors do.
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Choosing sacrifice so others will have freedom. That’s what warriors do.
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Julia Dye, Ph.D. keeps the Entertainment Industry honest through technical advising and performer training, and helps Hollywood directors capture the realities of warfare in all aspects of the media. As a partner in the consulting firm Warriors, Inc., she was Weapons Master and provided training to Colin Farrell for the film” Alexander” and with the military advisory team, oversaw historical accuracy for the HBO series, “The Pacific”, among many other productions. Dye earned her doctorate in Hoplology (the anthropology of human conflict) from The Union Institute & University. Her business background includes venue producing at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she handled all production needs for Figure Skating and Short Track Speed Skating.
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Visit Warriors Publishing Group, or find them on Facebook.
Photo by A. Birkan ÇAGHAN
No, this is basically the ur-example of male disposability. Fight your own damn battles.
(I mean, seriously, people CONTEMPORARY with this guy, like Wilfred Owen for example, figured out how utterly toxic and manipulative this garbage was. Talk about being 100 years behind the times.)