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To: robowombat
This brings to mind one of the few war stories my late father told about his WWII service as a US Marine Raider in the South Pacific.

He was a sergeant and a squad leader on some God-forsaken island (New Georgia?). One day his squad encountered a pair of heavily-painted and kimona-clad ladies who appeared to be Japanese camp-followers (prostitutes for their officers).

They continued to approach the Raiders despite their repeated attempts to wave them off. They seemed oblivious even when rifles were aimed at them, so my dad made a horrific split-second decision that caused that caused even the battle-hardened Raiders to gasp, shout in protest, and begin to freeze up.

The squad hesitated to fire on the two as ordered, so my dad opened up with his trusty Thompson sub-machine gun. While the jungle still echoed with the sound of gunfire and the shouts of horrified Marines, the women were engulfed in the explosion of the hand grenades they had stashed in their armpits.

How will today's warriors deal with similar threats in the form of burkha-clad women? Just as sure as God made little green apples, we will see at least one incident where our fighting men will kill such "civilians" -- and be demonized by "world opinion" -- or are killed by fanatics following the tradition of the Japanese camp-followers that me father was savvy and brave enough to send home to their Maker.

Sadly, we will be reminded that the balance between battlefield survival and a sense of humanity -- now tempered by decades of PC indoctrination -- is a fine one indeed....

5 posted on 09/24/2002 8:42:27 AM PDT by tracer
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To: tracer
"Fighting men" should have read "fighting men and women".....
6 posted on 09/24/2002 8:44:27 AM PDT by tracer
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To: tracer
Your dad did himself (and the Marines) proud. Don't worry about the temperment of today's combat arms troops. There would be NO HESITATION. All it takes is for one civilian to look a little out of place while on a combat patrol, and those civilians will be either face down in the dirt for a search or just down for a dirt nap. We would occasionally get lax patrolling in Europe, but NEVER in the middle east.
7 posted on 09/24/2002 8:51:29 AM PDT by 11B3
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