They Shall Not Grow Old

I finally got to see “They Shall Not Grow Old” today at the theater.

15 year olds volunteering to go off to war. The trenches and chemical warfare and the miles of barbed wire. Constantly being hammered by artillery, picked off by snipers. The horrid living conditions in trenches, with mud and rats and lice, and the dead everywhere.
It’s one thing to read about it, but to see it brought to life with color and sound. It was both amazing and horrifying.

I found myself welling up at the end, don’t know why. I have no close connection to WWI. I’m a 10 year Army vet so maybe I could relate just a little, maybe it was the disregard for the value of life.
I found it amusing how some things have not changed in the boot camp phase from 1914 to when i went through.
The sheer numbers of people who died as a result of WW1 is too much to comprehend. 16-17 million directly, with up to 50 million more from the spread of the Spanish Flu linked directly to the massing of soldiers from all over the world and returning home. Human Race altering events.
There was a 20-30 minute bonus at the end from Peter Jackson on how it was restored and put together and why he took on the project. Amazing work

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WW1 was a horrible thing. I can’t beleive some of the things that happened during that war.

We still have a lot fo that going on today, where we carelessly go to war and convince young men that it’s the right thing to do, when in reality its much more complicated. Reminds me of a favorite poem of mine, which actually happens to be about WWI:

Dulce et Decorum Est
BY WILFRED OWEN

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs,
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots,
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of gas-shells dropping softly behind.

Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time,
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.—
Dim through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,—
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.

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Yes that is my favourite poem aswell: It is sweet and proper to die for one’s country :slight_smile:

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I could literally analyse that poem in and out​:joy::joy::joy:

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Hope ALL this will never happen again.
When we look at those guilty for that crimes and desasters
So called “statesmen”, dictators and megalomaniacs.

WWI and WWII (caused by WWI) are such terrible and awful events in
XX - century.
Let us take a deep bow to all the innocent, have being wounded, loosing their homes and being killed in those cruel, unbelievable wars.

NEVER AGAIN!

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In America we are taught that WWI was started partly because of “militarization” - in other words, if you build weapons, eventually you have to use them.

I wish we could see that creating these weapons will eventually lead to war. Our gun lobby people tend to think you an manufacture millions of guns and bullets and expect that to PREVENT war. It’s a crazy and backwards thought.

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Think the reason WWI started was a economical one.

Sarajevo was only the “fuse” to bring the powder keg to explode!

Wilhelm II, Franz Joseph I , Zar Nikolaus II and George V were only puppets on a string in DE/AUT, RU and UK .

But to discuss about this, would be leading really to far.
The theme is so deep and serious.

You are absolutely correct, this is one type of business and employment.

I really want to go see it. But somehow I believe my 10-month-old won’t let me… :joy: So I’ll wait for it to hit streaming options, but it’s certainly on my list!

I’m not in the military nor have any family members in the military but I salute and respect all the brave men and women who are willing to give their lives for their country

I’ve been meaning to watch this one, I’ve heard good things.