All due respect to the victims of war, and of course ‘the truth’, which is always the first victim.
My grandfather (dec) reluctantly was shipped off to Gallipoli, and returned a different person – minus an eye. My father returned from Papua New Guinea in WWII, with malaria and a nervous breakdown. Neither lived a long life.
Whilst there certainly would have been a fair amount of patriotism (nationalism), it is important to remember in that period there were two referendums (1916 and 1917), put up by then Labor Prime Minister, Billy Hughes, in support of conscription – both lost. One can only imagine the pressure put upon individuals and families with the prospect of being handed a ‘white feather’, to symbolise cowardice.
And where are we today, with our neverending involvement in war somewhere, having little to do with our defence. What about the Labor Party commitment to sign/ratify the ‘International Ban on Nuclear Weapons’?
Chibo, you are right to feel betrayed, there are far more urgent things we should be spending our money on, for people and the planet. Thanks to John Scrivener and Roy Drew for their informative letters, and Hans Lovejoy for his critique on Winston Churchill (Echo, 26 April).
If there is ever going to be a serious discussion on ‘global warming’, we cannot omit the huge footprint of the military industrial complex, whilst defending our freedom of speech.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
