Free Republic

BETWEEN 1914 and 1918, when Australia's population was barely four million, 416,809 citizens answered Britain's call and enlisted for service in World War I. That included nearly 40 per cent of the male population aged between 18 and 44. Almost two-thirds of them became casualties of that hellish conflict. The figures are staggering: 58,961 died; 166,811 were wounded; and 4098 went missing or were taken prisoner. A further 87,865 suffered ongoing sickness from the effects of mustard gas and other frightful weapons. To give these numbers context, Australia's road toll today, with our population five times larger, is a little...

LONDON (Reuters) - Penguins and stooges, tunnelers and forgers -- they were all there in London this week to remember Tom, Dick and Harry. These were the men who broke out of Nazi Germany's supposedly escape-proof camp Stalag Luft III on a moonless night in March 1944, creating one of World War II's most enduring legends and inspiring a classic war film. The Great Escape itself was 60 years ago but Squadron Leader Jimmy James, one of the 76 who escaped through the tunnel code-named Harry, clearly remembers the moments as he waited underground to scramble to freedom. "I felt...