Rudyard Kipling"
āWhen you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldierā
General Douglas MacArthur"
āWe are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.ā
āIt is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.ā āOld soldiers never die; they just fade away.
āThe soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.ā
āMay God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .ā āThe object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
āNobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
āIt is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
From the Straits Times Singapore, Friday December 28 1956
Friday, August 11, 2006
Malay Private defied 30 Bandits Single Handed. One of the worst Emergency incidents is ābolt from the blueā. 8 die in ambush. THREE WOUNDED: ONE IS VICTIMāS SON. Reds attack in āWhiteā area.
Bentong, Thursday. In a deadly surprise ambush in a White Area 30 miles of here a terrorist gang yesterday killed 8 men of the 6th Bn., Royal Malay Regiment and wounded 3 other people. It was one of the worst incidents of the Emergency. A British NCO, Staff Sergeant William E.M Harris and a Malay Officer Captain Shukor bin Chik were among the dead. Sgt. Harrisās 14 year old son Arnold was slightly wounded.
He was found beside his fatherās wrecked Land Rover by an Officer of the 2/6 Gurkhas, Major A.M Morrison who was the first person to arrive at the ambush scene 45 minutes after it occurred. Men of the 2/6 Gurkhas and Home Guards have begun a follow up.
Soft target The terrorist gang numbering about 30, is believed to have crossed into Pahang recently form Negri Sembilan to find a āsoftā target and capture weapons. Because a wounded soldier Pte. Aman, kept them at bay with his Bren āgun, fed with ammunition from the packs of his dead comrades, the Reds only captured 3 rifles.
Fatal corner The ambush was sprung at 1pm at the 98 Ā¾ mile on the Bentong-Manchis road ā an area declared āwhiteā 6 months ago ā as the unarmoured Land Rover and a big recovery wagon were returning to Mentakab after repairing a vehicle involved in an accident.
The terrorists opened a withering fire as the two vehicles, with 11 people aboard rounded a bend. Both drivers and Capt. Shukor and Sgt. Harris were killed in the first burst. As the other soldiers fell, Pte. Aman seized his Bren and poured bullets into the bandit positions. āPte.Aman kept his Bren firing right to the endā, an officer of the battalion said.
Second hero āThe ambush came like a bolt from the blueā he added. The terrorists were forced to withdraw after about 10 minutes. Six of the dead were killed outright. One died on the way to the hospital and another in hospital. Another hero was Pte. Ahmad bin Udin of the Sixth Battalion. He and Aman were part of the escort riding in the rearmost of the two unarmoured vehicles.
On guard When a party of 2/6 Gurkhas Rifles came on the scene about half an hour later they found Pte. Ahmad, his left arm shattered and hanging useless, mounted on guard outside his vehicle ready to use a loaded rifle with his right arm. In the vehicle Pte.Aman who held off the terrorists was giving succour to a dying soldier. The action of these two privates prevented the terrorists from getting the seven weapons that belonged to the dead and wounded in the second vehicle.
The funerals The other men killed in the ambush were: Sgt.Ibrahim (Jelebu); Pte.Ismail bin Yusoff (Kota Bharu); Pte. Mohamed bin Khalid (Bukit Lintang, Malacca); Pte. Ibrahim bin Abdul (Partit Buntar); Pte.Sani bin Rani (Jasin); and Craftman Haji Arrifin (Kampong Dabong, Kelantan). Capt. Shukor was married with one child. He was buried at Taiping today. Sgt.Harrisās wife and five children lived with him at battalion headquarters in Mentakab. Mrs. Harris and Arnold were at his funeral at Cheras Road cemetery, Kuala Lumpur this afternoon. The source........
