1917

Some weeks ago, I was listening to the great 1999 album by Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris called Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions. The fifth track on the album was described by the respected website AllMusic.com in this way:

“The album’s best track, ‘1917,’ was written by folk singer David Olney. It’s impossible to imagine anyone else singing this haunting tale of soldiers and women in World War I. Fragile and breathtaking, Harris’ voice is buoyed by the angelic harmonies of Ronstadt and Kate and Anna McGarrigle.”

I always find it extraordinary haunting.

The War To End All Wars: 92nd Anniversary Edition

The end of the Great World War, later dubbed World War I, was supposedly the “War to end all wars.” How has that turned out?

They use different criteria, but here’s one list of current conflicts, a second roster of current conflicts and a third tally of hostilities.

Found some war quotes here:

“There are no atheists in foxholes” isn’t an argument against atheism, it’s an argument against foxholes.” – James Morrow

“War is only a cowardly escape from the problems of peace.” – writer Thomas Mann

“The more you sweat in peacetime, the less you bleed during war.” – Chinese Proverb

“War is a poor chisel to carve out tomorrow.” – Martin Luther King, Jr

“You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war.” – Albert Einstein

20th Century Warriors: Native American Participation in the United States Military.

The Doors: The Unknown Soldier.