h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

6 June 1944

The gull flies along the shoreline,
Looking down, searching the water's edge
for fish to catch and eat.
But those aren't fish: what are they?
Boxes in the water.
Boxes full of men.
(Boxes made in Pittsburgh.)

A frantic call to headquarters.
'Es müssen fünf tausend Schiffe sein!'
(Incredulously) 'Welchen Kurs haben diese Schiffe denn?'
'Auf mich zu!'
Well, it looked like that.

The noise is ferocious.
A hundred herd of elephants couldn't roar like that,
Nor could they pound the earth so.

The gull flies away in disgust.
Bigger birds are coming.
Fiercer birds.
No fishing today.

A few references:

Scene from 'The Longest Day' (and don't think about the song A87893761 ):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zhSc6xVxkY

'And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.'
Revelation 19: 17-18

'We find that at present the human race is divided into one wise man, nine knaves, and ninety fools out of every hundred. That is, by an optimistic observer. The nine knaves assemble themselves under the banner of the most knavish among them, and become 'politicians'; the wise man stands out, because he knows himself to be hopelessly outnumbered, and devotes himself to poetry, mathematics, or philosophy; while the ninety fools plod off under the banners of the nine villains, according to fancy, into the labyrinths of chicanery, malice and warfare. It is pleasant to have command, observes Sancho Panza, even over a flock of sheep, and that is why the politicians raise their banners. It is, moreover, the same thing for the sheep whatever the banner. If it is democracy, then the nine knaves will become members of parliament; if fascism, they will become party leaders; if communism, commissars. Nothing will be different, except the name. The fools will be still fools, the knaves still leaders, the results still exploitation. As for the wise man, his lot will be much the same under any ideology. Under democracy he will be encouraged to starve to death in a garret, under fascism he will be put in a concentration camp, under communism he will be liquidated.'

TH White, 'The Book of Merlyn', written but not published during the Second World War 'due to wartime paper shortages and its antiwar message.'

Op/Ed piece by Martin Muno of 'Deutsche Welle':
http://www.dw.com/en/opinion-the-forgotten-lessons-of-d-day/a-49074472

Personally, my deepest wish is that we honour the sacrifice of so many who fought in that conflict - my late dad among them - by making sure nothing like it ever happens again.

As Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman are busy pointing out on Amazon Prime, Armageddon is a really horrible idea.

I also add my 100% respect to those that sacrificed everything, including their lives - in all wars

"by making sure nothing like it ever happens again"
If only the people in power and those that come to power after them would learn this lesson!
WE could ALL live together in peace, on this small round planet

The gull flies away in disgust.
Bigger birds are coming.
Fiercer birds.
No fishing today.

Says it all. Who wrote this poem? Makes me shiver. Incredible.

Love your tribute, these crumbs of wisdom. Thanks.

Yes, my late Dad left poems that he wrote from the front line in Italy. Devastating, not tough stuff, but poems about how having to fight this war was tearing him apart, the awfulness he saw around him, so homesick for peaceful days. And he was about 22 yrs old.

I'm afraid I wrote the poem.

Blessings on your dad. Mine felt about the same. He was 18.

F1926355?thread=533382

Therefore Dmitri, I would be honoured and privileged - if you would add your verse/poem to my thread.

You wrote the poem??? Amazing.

Wise words indeed...

The TH White quote is reminiscent of the one about "Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. Those who do know history are doomed to watch others repeating it."

Good quote, Sasha.

FWIW: My musician sister sent me a link to this (true) song about D-Day, which oddly I hadn't heard before:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X6WxLbTmok

Apparently, the most recent release by the songwriter is climbing the charts, and the money's going to the memorial folks. It's a lovely job of storytelling, and I think the choice of 'Raglan Road' as a tune was just perfect.

See? Folk music: not irrelevant.