Defenders of Democracy; contributions from representative other arts from our allies and our own country, ed. by the Gift book committee of the Militia of Mercy by Militia of Mercy
page 95 of 394 (24%)
page 95 of 394 (24%)
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long way to Tipperary." Alas! It is indeed a "long, long way,"
and many a gallant English boy has fallen in that way of glory. To-day, from the Channel to the Vosges, there are hundreds of thousands of graves where British soldiers keep the ghostly bivouac of the dead. They gave their young lives on the soil of France to save France, and when the great result is finally accomplished, a grateful world will never forget that "fidelity even unto death" of the British soldier. Their place on Fame's eternal camping ground is sure. What just man can fail to appreciate the work of the English sailor? It has been said by Lord Curzon, that never has an English mariner in this war refused to accept the arduous and most dangerous service of patrolling the great highways of the deep. No soldier can surpass in courage or fortitude the mine sweepers, who have braved the elemental forces of nature, and the most cruel forces of the Terror, which lurks under the seas. The spirit of Nelson still inspires them, for every mariner of England has done his duty in this greatest crisis of the modern world. And how can words pay due tribute to the work and sacrifices of the women and children of England? They have endured hardships with masculine strength, and have accepted irreparable sacrifices with infinite self-sacrifice. When the three British cruisers were sunk early in the war by a single submarine, and many thousand British sailors perished, the |
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