At War

||The Interview||

TC: Good morning, Professor Dangerfield...

FD: Please, call me Fiona.

TC: Alright. I'm Torrenzi. So, Fiona, you speak a lot about these letters in your book, and how important they are in current times. What made you dig so deep into them?

FD: Well, for me, it would be the simplicity of the letters. I was surprised the simple desires of a person torn away from their homelands by a war that has nothing to do with them. You'd think someone who spends years in wet ditches and foxholes chewing military rations would hope for a lot more than just a home. The soldier does not expect a lot of renumeration. Another factor that made me look twice into it was the age. The writer of these letters claims that they are just stepping out of teenage. It makes you wonder – are we, in the name of good health and young blood, sending our children to certain death?

TC: That, certainly, is an interesting question. But being born in a country is a matter of pride, a hallmark of one's identity. Surely, it is important to defend that?

FD: More than defending, it is important not to attack. If you do not covet what is not yours, then this question does not even arise. What is essential today is the mentality - one world and one people.

TC: But is not one's country the epitome of their life, beliefs and existence?

FD: Not necessarily. Plenty of people migrate from country to country. It is alright to have borders, but it is not okay to be so possessive or jealous about them that you do not consider those who live within them. Dogs defend their territory this viciously, there is not need for humans to emulate it.

TC: How do you, as a professor of history, feel about their apparent execution?

FD: Appalled, certainly. Incredulous? Not at all. Men have been slaughtered for less, and these people actively disobeyed direct commands.

TC: And do you support what they did?

FD: From a moral standpoint, absolutely. What they were about to do was essentially a violation of human rights, and in today's world, it would be unacceptable. In this respect, this unit certainly displayed great courage and integrity. I mean, look at it this way. How many people would be willing to give up their lives so that a bunch of villagers in some faraway part of the world are not deprived of their language and education? They could have just let it be. They could have come back and said that they were just following orders. Our soldier writes a very important statement, that there are only two options for a soldier - to obey orders, or to abort the mission. That these people aborted the mission in spite of knowing its consequences makes them worthy of praise.

TC: You said 'from a moral standpoint.' Does this mean you have another standpoint?

FD: I certainly do. There is always another standpoint. While I greatly appreciate their ideals and their ability to stand for their beliefs, one cannot deny that, in the grander scheme of things, this did not do the villagers any good. to the best of my knowledge, another group of soldiers were sent in and the incident was hushed. From this viewpoint, all these noble people lost their lives for nothing.

TC: They say history is written by the victors. Till date there are no known records of this incident in the public domain.

FD: You are right. There are no such records in the public domain. Indeed, it appears that this incident was glossed over. Appallingly, their crimes have been greatly multiplied in the letters to their parents and relatives. While we do not know the identity of the author, or that of everyone else in that unit, certain people have come up with letters and telegrams documenting the fate of some recognized members of that unit. They were... complicated to say the least. What was sent to them is not exactly inaccurate, but definitely embellished and constructed in a way that puts most of the blame on them. It is... not ideal.