]
These names will become more and more glorious--some have already done
so--and others will be added to the list which you will learn also. But
however tenacious your memory may be, you will never remember, nobody
will ever remember, the thousands of names we ought to save from
oblivion, the names of those whose patience, courage, and sufferings
have saved the soil of France. The fame of one man is nothing unless it
represent the obscure deeds of the anonymous multitude. The name of
Guynemer ought to sum up the sacrifice of all French youth--infantrymen,
gunners, pioneers, troopers, or flyers--who have given their lives for
us, as we hear the infinite murmur of the ocean in one beautiful shell.
The enthusiasm and patience, the efforts and sacrifices, of the
generations which came before you, little boy, were necessary to save
you, to save your country, to save the world, born of light and born
unto light, from the darkness of dread oppression. Germany has chosen to
rob war of all that, slowly and tentatively, the nations had given to it
of respect for treaties, pity for the weak and defenseless, and of honor
generally.
Pages:
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313