Shot at Dawn "The SAD Campaign to Secure Millennium Pardons for British and Commonwealth Soldiers Executed During The First World War " Information on LMF - Lack of Moral Fibre At http://www.shotatdawn.org.uk/

Trouble with undisciplined Aussies: No executions(?) in WWI of Australian Troops "Some punishments however were not forced down on Australian troops. Though liable to be executed for mutiny, desertion to the enemy or treachery, the 129 Australians (including 119 deserters) that were sentenced to death during the war (117 in France) were not shot. The 1903 Australian Defence Act stipulated that the Governor General of Australia had to confirm the sentences passed by courts-martial - and he never endorsed the sentences. Although Haig made strong representations for power to inflict the extreme penalty upon Australian soldiers, the sanction was continually denied." At http://www.geocities.com/~worldwar1/aussies.html Remembrance Day : Australia's "no death penalty policy" for troops in the first world war "Even on the Western Front he had exercised his vote in the Australian elections and in the referendums as to conscription, and it was largely through his own act in these ballots that the Australian people had rejected conscription and that, to the end, the A.I.F. consisted entirely of volunteers. He was subject to no death penalty for disobedience or failure to face the enemy." (Source: 'The Australian Imperial Force in France During the Allied Offensive, 1918' ; reprinted in The Australian: Yarns, Ballads, Legends, Traditions of the Australian People, edited by Bill Wannan, Australasian Book Society, Melbourne, 1958, pp. 31-32.)" At http://www.acn.net.au/articles/remembrance/index.htm Conscription (a South Australian perspective) At http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-conflicts-periods/other/conscription.htm

The Heritage of the Great War: Shot at Dawn Including number of executions of soldiers in WWII "During the Great War many soldiers were executed. The armies wanted to set examples to the troops. "Do not walk away from our war - we shoot you if you do." The men were shot for desertion, cowardice (even if it was caused by shell shock or other mental affections), and other breaches of discipline. After the war all armies made their files on the executions top secret. Only these last years some of the archives have been opened and now, slowly, the truth becomes public. In France and England political debates have been started about demands for reviewing the sentences. In total British court martials condemned 306 soldiers to be shot at dawn. Among them were 25 Canadians, 22 Irishmen and 5 New-Zealanders. Australia was the only country that did not want its soldiers (all volunteers) to be executed. The German army carried out at least 48 death-sentences. The real figure is probably much higher; most documents seem to be destroyed. In the French army more than 600 soldiers were put to death. Little known is the French decimation (the shooting of every tenth person in a unit) of the 10e Compagnie of 8 Battalion of the Régiment Mixte de Tirailleurs Algériens. During the retreat at the beginning of the war these French-African soldiers refused an order to attack. They were shot on the 15th of December 1914 near Zillebeeke in Flanders" At http://www.geocities.com/~worldwar1/index.html

Canadians Shot at Dawn At http://home.cogeco.ca/~cdnsad/ At Newspaper Article "Most of the soldiers shot for desertion were British. In addition to the 23 Canadians, five New Zealanders, four Africans and one Jamaican were executed."

LESSER KNOWN FACTS OF WW II Including number of executions of soldiers in WWII Court Martial.  During the battle for Normandy, four British officers and 7,018 other ranks were court martialled for desertion.  Fifty nine officers and 3,628 other ranks were court martialled for other offences. The death sentence for desertion in the British forces was abolished in 1929. During World War 1, over 300 British and Commonwealth soldiers were shot for desertion and cowardice. Execution. At 10.05am on January 31, 1945, Private Eddie D.Slovik, 36896415, of Company G, 109th.Infantry Regiment, US 28th.Infantry Division, was executed by a twelve man firing squad from his own regiment. The execution took place in the garden of a villa at No.86, Rue de General Dourgeois, in the town of St.Marie-Aux-Mines, near Colmar in eastern France.  Slovik, the son of poor Polish immigrants, was the only American since the Civil War to be shot for desertion. Of the hundred thousand or so GI deserters from the US Army, 2,864 were tried by General court-martial for desertion since the war began. Forty nine were sentenced to death but in only one case, that of Eddie Slovik, was the sentence carried out. Colonel James E. Rudder of the 109th Infantry Regiment would later write to his men "The person that is not willing to fight and die, if need be, for his country has no right to life". The villa at No.86 has since been demolished and three residential apartment blocks have been built on the site. The street name has also been changed. Military Crimes.    A total of 49 US soldiers were hanged for crimes that were committed on French soil after the D-Day landings. In the whole European theatre of operations, 109 civilians were murdered by American soldiers.  In Germany, 107 German nationals were murdered. In the same time, 214 US soldiers were also murdered by their own countrymen. Those sentenced to death for various crimes amounted to 443, (245 white men and 198 coloured). Only 21 per cent of those sentences were actually carried out. In France, there were 181 reported cases of rape that resulted in Court Martial. In Germany, there were 552 reported cases of rape by US Forces. At http://members.iinet.net.au/~gduncan/facts.html The Port Chicago Disaster Refer: http://www.cccoe.k12.ca.us/pc/

Executed For Example : Commemorating British Soldiers Shot during World War One "Many became ill with the effects of this trauma related to 'battle-fatigue' or 'shell-shock'; these conditions are better known to us today as Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome." At http://www.clarkehome58.freeserve.co.uk/ Shot at Dawn: For Armistice Day 2000 - Words Across the Years / Poetry At http://www.clarkehome58.freeserve.co.uk/armistice.htm Shot at Dawn: Background Information "During the war, as word spread of the occurrence and regularity of executions in the British army, questions were asked in the House of Commons about the circumstances and legality of such actions. In the years that followed the issue was continually raised and it was Ernest Thurtle MP, having served as a captain with first-hand experience of trench life, who was involved in the attempt to abolish the death penalty for offences, such as cowardice, desertion and sleeping at post." "April 1930 - The new minority Labour government's Army and Air Force Bill, with an amendment by Ernest Thurtle MP, removed the dealth penalty for the military offences of cowardice and desertion." "May 1997 - Dr John Reid (Minister of State for the Armed Forces) announced that a review, as sugggested in 1995 would now take place." "24 July 1998 - Parliamentary Statement by Dr John Reid, concerning the Review of First World War Executions, during which he explained the reasons for not granting a full legal pardon, although sympathy was expressed for the victims and their families and it was requested that the stigma they had suffered be removed. It was suggested that the names of the soldiers be added to appropriate war memorials and books of Remembrance, where this had not already been done. Dr Reid also announced, subject to parliamentary approval, the abolition of the death penalty 'for military offences in the British Armed forces in peace and war'." At http://www.clarkehome58.freeserve.co.uk/normal3.htm

Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2001 17:23:54 +1000 (EST) To: l.cranswick@dl.ac.uk From: Keith Subject: Deserters and executions Lachlan, By some great coincidence, a radio program was aired on Radio National's "The Europeans" series of 25/3/2001 entitled "Reshaping public memory: German deserter monuments". This program was primarily concerned with the monuments erected to WWII deserters; recasting them not as cowards but as heroes. However, early in the talk the figure was given for the number of German soldiers condemned to death in WWII, and the number executed. If my memory serves me right these figures were 50000 and 33000, respectively. These figures seem a bit high to me, but audio of the program can be accessed from: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/europe/stories/s263567.htm (I don't have audio on my system and the text of the talk has not been downloaded to the abc page as yet). Regards Keith German deserter monuments Reshaping public memory: German deserter monuments At http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/europe/stories/s263567.htm Photographs of deserter monuments in Germany - page 1 At http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/europe/stories/desert1.htm Slide 1: Deserter memorial plaque in Kassel Slide 2: Kassel memorial plaque alongside an earlier plaque dedicated to sailors who fought and died for Germany's 'glory and honour' Slide 3: Deserter monument in Bremen; first public memorial to deserters in Germany Slide 4: Deserter monument in Ulm: Stein des Anstoßes Slide 5: Deserter monument in Potsdam Slide 6: Deserter monument in Potsdam Photographs of deserter monuments in Germany - page 2 At http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/europe/stories/desert2.htm Slide 7: Göttingen deserter monument; on the facade of the building which served as the barracks for the 82nd Infantry Regiment from 1871 - 1945 Slide 8: Göttingen monument; it shows a trampled Nazi flag and a cherry tree branch with the inscription: 'Not for the fear of death but, rather, out of the will to live' Slide 9: Göttingen plaque reading: 'To the deserters who for reasons of conscience refused to carry out war service for the national-socialist tyranny and as a result were persecuted, killed and slandered' Slide 10: Deserter monument in Erfurt Slide 11: Deserter monument in Erfurt Slide 12: Plaque in Erfurt: 'To the unknown Wehrmacht deserter. To the victims of Nazi military justice. To all those who refused to serve the Nazi regime. Be sand, not oil, in the works of the world!' Gunter Eich "Be uncomfortable; be sand, not oil, in the machinery of the world" - German poet Gunter Eich (1907-72) Deserter Monuments in Germany: by DR. STEVEN WELCH (Department of History, University of Melbourne) Steven Welch Homepage: http://www.history.unimelb.edu.au/staff/welch.html At http://www.cerc.unimelb.edu.au/swabstract.htm "ABSTRACT In the 1980s pacifist and Green groups in Germany began to argue that soldiers who had deserted from the Wehrmacht in World War II should be regarded as "heroes of a special kind" and should be commemorated with public plaques and monuments. Since 1987 several deserter monuments have been established, although veterans groups and political conservatives have protested vociferously against honouring deserters. The paper offers a case study in the contentious "politics of memory" in contemporary Germany through an examination of deserter monuments and the controversy they have sparked. It includes slides and analysis of deserter monuments in Gottingen, Ulm, Kassel, Potsdam, Erfurt and Darmstadt. The paper concludes by exploring the challenge which the memorialisation of deserters presents to prevailing notions of soldierly heroism and "manly" military values." Memorial to Deserters in Ulm At http://hatlie.de/history/sitesofmemory/ulmdeserters.html These pictures were taken on 19 November, 2005, on the day this memorial was formally unveiled by the organization Friedenswerk Ulm - 17 years after it was built! It is located near the Lehrertal entrance to the university botanical garden at Ulm. It is right by the road, near the parking lot of a dog school. The organizers were a bit disappointed that a more prominent place could not be found, but did point out that the place where the memorial now stands is not totally inappropriate. Those memorialized by this marker are the men who deserted the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. 15,000 men were executed. The idea for the memorial emerged in 1985 at the annual meeting of the organization, "Reservists Refuse". They decided to build a memorial to deserters. In June of 1988 the Initiative for the Creation of a Memorial to Deserters came to life in Ulm and Neu Ulm. A central idea was, "Desertion is not reprehensible, war is". On 9 September, 1989, this memorial, was unveiled in front of the Roxy Hallen in downtown Ulm. Four weeks later, the city council of Ulm decided to have the memorial removed, and the memorial was moved to the private yard of one Frau Henseler in Neu Ulm/Ludwigsfeld, where it remained for almost 16 years! In July of 2005 it was placed at its current location. During the intervening years a number of events contributed to a rethinking of the status of deserters in society, including the 1993 decision by the EU parliament to offer asylum to deserters from Yugoslavia and the decision by the German parliament to rehabilitate Wehrmacht deserters in 1997. The convictions for desertion were only formally and legally reversed by the German parliament in 2002 (although the Nazi-era convicions for treason in wartime were not anulled). The group "Youth for Peace", which was formed during the crisis surrounding the outbreak of the Iraq War in 2003, was the primary moving force behind getting the memorial moved onto public land. A 1995 attempt to get the city council to reconsider its earlier decision failed. The memorial is the creation of Hannah Stuetz Menzel. The only written information available to passers-by is a quote by Kurt Tucholsky, a writer an journalist, from 1925: "Here lived a man who refused to shoot at his fellow men, honor to his memory!" Manfred Eger speaking on the history of this location. Only a few steps from this location, in the woods near the entrance to the botanical garden, there was a site of execution during the war where several young men were shot. The woods are still marked with the sign, Schiesstand - "Firing Range". Not pictured is Gertrud Schwarz-Langer, who spoke on the subject of the memorial as a work of art. Friedensdenkmal Ulm : Nun doch ein würdiger und öffentlicher Platz für das : ulmer deserteur denkmal At http://www.ippnw-ulm.de/friedensdenkmal/ Military Counseling Network!: Want out? We’re here to help. At http://www.mc-network.de/ Who are we? It is not an easy time to be an American in Europe, much less to be a soldier. As a soldier, you may not know what rights you have or be able to get straight answers in the military. MCN is a non-military network of organizations prepared to provide free counseling service to those soldiers who are questioning going to war or want to know more about military discharges and regulations. What do we do? Operating primarily as a source of information, we have several counselors located in different regions throughout Germany. We are ready to respond to questions, provide guidance and supply legal information. Soldiers can contact us for information on discharges like, Hardship/Dependency, Medical/Disability, Other Designated Physical and Mental Conditions, Discharge in Lieu of Court-Martial, and Conscientious Objection. How can we help? A counselor can discuss the various discharges with you, help you decide if one is good for you, explain procedures, work with you to gather the necessary documents, and support you throughout the process. Types of Discharges: Conscientious Objection Disability Discharge in Lieu of Court-Martial ("For the Good of the Service") Entry Level Performance & Conduct Erroneous & Defective Enlistment Hardship or Dependency Homosexual Conduct Minority Enlistment Misconduct Other Designated Physical or Mental Conditions (ODPMC) Pregnancy or Childbirth Parenthood Surviving Son or Daughter Unsatisfactory Performance

Pledging Allegiance with Garden Gnomes is not Punishable Found while looking for web resources for "Garden Gnomes of Daresbury Laboratory Trilogy Web Pages" Pledging Allegiance with Garden Gnomes is not Punishable.. - Transnational Peace Newsletter (Part of the non-violence web) http://www.nonviolence.org/archivedsites/tpn/4.htm Pledging Allegiance with Garden Gnomes is not Punishable.... At the end of March 1998 Christian Herz, a member of the group, "Campaign against Military Service, Forced Service and the Military" was tried in a Municipal Court of Berlin on account of violation of the Law concerning Assemblies and Processions. Two days prior to an official pledge of allegiance by Federal Army recruits in May 1996, he and other activists had set up a parade of 450 garden gnomes in front of the Charlottenburg Palace. For this anti-military action, the gnomes had been painted as "NVA gnomes", police gnomes, and - to the displeasure of genuine field army members - as "military police gnomes". All of them were members of the "National Garden Gnome Army" (NZA). The gnomes were then sworn in to texts of oaths from 200 years of German military history. A strict ban on assemblies in this area had been ruled. Herz received a fine of 450 Marks (one Mark per gnome). He objected, which led to the court hearing. After Herz asked the question, "How many garden gnomes represent an assembly, and at what stage does this violate the Law concerning Assemblies and Processions?", the court no longer dealt with the matter and the case was dropped on the ground of insignificance. After this judgement a sextet of gnomes made a mini-parade in front of the court. As the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper stated on March 21. The parade showed great discipline. "No special occurrences reported". Source: Based on an article by Thomas Klein in "Kampagne Aktuell", April 1998, page 1,

The Long Shadow Short file by "ATG (Alfred the Great) Films, a small Hampshire-based production company: it tells the story of Private Reginald Tite of the Royal Sussex Regiment who was shot at dawn for cowardice on 25 November 1916. He was 27 years of age." At http://www.atgfilms.co.uk/longshadow.html At http://www.atgfilms.co.uk/people.html National Millenium Arboretum At http://www.arboretum-nma.org.uk Chippenham's War Memorials At http://www.chippenham-war-memorial.fsnet.co.uk Commonwealth War Graves Commission At http://www.cwgc.org/ Western Front Association At http://www.westernfrontassociation.com/

Siegfried Loraine Sassoon.(1886-1967) At http://www.sassoonery.demon.co.uk/ London Times, Obituary: MR SIEGFRIED SASSOON: Poet, fox-hunter, soldier and pacifist: http://www.sassoonery.demon.co.uk/sass-obituary.htm "This site has been developed as an aid to those interested in the First War World, specifically Ypres" At http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~dccfarr/ Photographs Of Ypres: http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~dccfarr/photos.htm Shot at Dawn Soldiers buried in cemeteries or commemorated on memorials in the Salient: http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~dccfarr/sad.htm Stephen's Study Room "The subject is twentieth century British Criminal and Military History and includes an excellent bibliography. Of particular interest is an examination of Capital Courts Martial relating to members of both the Middlesex Regiment and the Royal Engineer" At http://www.chippenham-war-memorial.fsnet.co.uk

Censored pictures of the Great War At http://www.geocities.com/~worldwar1/forbid.html

Verdun 1916 At http://www.geocities.com/sander84/ Nella Last: Mass Observation diarist - WWII At http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/war/wwtwo/homefront/nellalast/nella_1.shtml Refugees in The Netherlands during the First World War At http://war1418.com/refugees/ Contents: http://war1418.com/refugees/english/vluchtelingen/pag02.htm No Consensus Yet on the Origins of the Great War "Don't be fooled: there is no such thing as an historical consensus on the origins of the Great War. But there is something coming close to it. This happened before. In the past historians also almost reached a sort of mutual agreement on a revisionist interpretation which developed in the 1920's. Many years and thousands of studies later this interpretation is now, slowly, giving way for a new one. . Challenged This view of the origins of the war was challenged by the German historian Fritz Fischer. To the chagrin of other German intellectuals, who preferred the theory that the other countries involved in World War I were at fault, Fischer's concluded that the Germans under the Kaiser had expansionist goals in the war. Writing in the 1960's, in the aftermath of the Second World War, Fischer argued that leading groups in Germany - including the Kaiser - sought a war which would establish German control over much of Europe. . Ironic... Canadian leading military historian prof. Terry Copp, who wrote most of the summary above, adds that this 'new consensus' must seem ironic to allied First World War veterans, ,,...because it presents the origins of the war much as the people of 1914 understood them." At http://www.geocities.com/~worldwar1/origins.html

GERMAN DESERTER'S WAR EXPERIENCE: TRANSLATED BY : J. KOETTGEN: NEW YORK: B. W. HUEBSCH : MCMXVII At http://raven.cc.ukans.edu/~libsite/wwi-www/Deserter/GermanTC.htm WWI - Memoirs and Rememberances At http://www.ukans.edu/~kansite/ww_one/memoir.html Breaking the conspiracy of silence: 'The Hero', by Siegfried Lorraine Sassoon (1886-1967) At http://geocities.com/~worldwar1/hero.html 'On Passing the New Menin Gate', by Siegfried Lorraine Sassoon (1886-1967) At http://www.geocities.com/~worldwar1/passing.html Rudyard Kipling's short story "The Gardener" "If any ask us why we died. Tell them 'Because our fathers lied'" At http://geocities.com/~worldwar1/kipling.html Rudyard Kipling's "Mary Postgate" At http://landow.stg.brown.edu/victorian/kipling/postgate.html "Mary Postgate" -- An Introduction: David Cody, Associate Professor of English, Hartwick College: http://landow.stg.brown.edu/victorian/kipling/postgate.intro.html Rudyard Kipling's "Mary Postgate" -- Another View: Dr Alexander Hutchison, Department of Educational and Staff Development, University of Paisley (Scotland) : http://landow.stg.brown.edu/victorian/kipling/hutchison1.html "The process of manufacturing Rudyard Kipling's Private Propaganda" by Tracy E. Bilsing : www.usafa.af.mil/dfeng/wla/current/Bilsing.pdf Rudyard Kipling Chronology: http://mural.uv.es/salremo/chrono2.html "In 1915 his son John was killed in action during World War I, and in 1917 he published A Diversity of Creatures, a collection of short stories which included "Mary Postgate." " The page of Rudyard Kipling: http://mural.uv.es/salremo/ Complete collection of Rudyard Kipling Poetry: http://www.poetryloverspage.com/poets/kipling/kipling_ind.html "The Naulahka" by Rudyard Kipling: http://www.poetryloverspage.com/poets/kipling/naulahka.html Extract: "Now it is not good for the Christian's health to hustle the Aryan brown, For the Christian riles, and the Aryan smiles and he weareth the Christian down; And the end of the fight is a tombstone white with the name of the late deceased, And the epitaph drear: "A Fool lies here who tried to hustle the east."" Anti-War Activist Resources At http://www.service.ohio-state.edu/students/sif/activist.html

Trying to find history on Consciencious Objectors / Consciencious Objection WAR, KILLING and the MILITARY At http://www.restoredcog.org/books/wkatm.html Plus History of Conscientious Objection "Conscientious Objection can be traced back many hundreds of years. In A.D. 173, an official of the Roman Empire, referring to those who refused to serve in the military, stated, “If all men were to do as you, there would be nothing to prevent the emperor from being left in utter solitude and desertion and the forces of the empire would fall into the hands of the most lawless barbarians” (Catholics and Conscientious Objection, James H. Forest, 1981)." BANNED BOOKS/CENSORSHIP NEWS: Books Banned Or Challenged In Wisconsin At http://www.execpc.com/~dcoy/PEDS/banned.htm "Words of Conscience: Religious Statements of Consciencious Objectors (Shawn Perry) and A Handbook for Consciencious Objectors (Robert A. Seeley) Access restricted to both books in Coleman due to alleged political overtones." What is "Methodism?" At http://www.desmoinesumc.org/methodisthistory/ The Moravian Church At http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/~jkh8x/soc257/nrms/Moravian.html "The Moravians who escaped to Germany in 1722 established a village on the estate of Count Nicholas Zinzendorf. Zinzendorf became integral in combining the Unitas Fratrum with the Pietist movement. It was at this time in 1727 the Moravian Church of today was founded as the Renewed Unitas Fratrum. In 1735 shortly after relocating in Germany the Moravians began to settle in North America. The first settlers, led by Bishop August Spengenberg traveled to Georgia.The following year 25 more Moravians traveled to Savannah on the sameship as John and Charles Wesley. This was the beginning of a seriesof contacts with Moravians which John Wesley recorded as having a impact on his life (Schattschneider, 64). The Moravians had two reasons for relocating; the first was to secure land for a settlement in the event that religious peresecutionshould drive them from Europe. The second reason for settling in Georgia was to be establish a mission to Native Americans. Early on the Moravians got caught in the middle of the war betweenthe British and the Spanish. Their consciencious objection made Georgia less than the secure new home land they had sought. This resulted in another relocation for the Moravians to Pennsylvaniawhere they established the communities of Nazareth and Bethlehem." impressment At http://www.slider.com/enc/26000/impressment.htm "forcible enrollment of recruits for military duty. Before the establishment of conscription, many countries supplemented their militia and mercenary troops by impressment. In England, impressment began as early as the Anglo-Saxon period and was used extensively under Elizabeth I, Charles I, and Oliver Cromwell. „Press gangs” forcibly seized and carried individuals into service; frequently subjects of foreign countries were taken. After 1800, England restricted impressment mostly to naval service. The Napoleonic Wars increased English need for sea power and led to the impressment of a large number of deserters, criminals, and British subjects who had become naturalized Americans. (Until 1850, England did not recognize the right of a man to renounce his nationality.) Frequent interception of American ships (see Chesapeake) to impress American citizens was a major cause of the War of 1812. England generally abandoned such forcible measures after 1835. In Prussia, impressment was introduced by Frederick William I after 1713, laying the groundwork for Prussian military power in the 18th cent. It reached its height under Frederick II (Frederick the Great) who made forced recruitment on foreign soil an integral part of the Prussian military system. Impressment was used in many countries as a method of ridding society of undesirables. Persons of property, apprenticed youths, and other respectable citizens were often exempted by law. The system fostered gross abuses and was often a means of private vengeance. It filled the army and navy with a group ready for mutiny, desertion, or other disloyalty, and it adversely affected voluntary recruitment. After 1800 impressment tended to become a means of enforcing conscription, and it fell into disuse after 1850. See J. R. Hutchinson, The Press-Gang Afloat and Ashore (1914); J. F. Zimmerman, Impressment of American Seamen (1926, repr. 1966). Science and Ethics By Bertrand Russell - From Religion and Science (Oxford University Press, 1961) Refer: http://www.inquiria.com/russell/science-ethics.html "As to the different deliverances of conscience: George III's conscience told him that he must not grant Catholic Emancipation, as, if he did, he would have committed perjury in taking the Coronation Oath, but later monarchs have had no such scruples. Conscience leads some to condemn the spoliation of the rich by the poor, as advocated by communists; and others to condemn exploitation of the poor by the rich, as practised by capitalists. It tells one man that he ought to defend his country in case of invasion, while it tells another that all participation in warfare is wicked. During the War, the authorities, few of whom had studied ethics, found conscience very puzzling, and were led to some curious decisions, such as that a man might have conscientious scruples against fighting himself, but not against working on the fields so as to make possible the conscription of another man. They held also that, while conscience might disapprove of all war, it could not, failing that extreme position, disapprove of the war then in progress. Those who, for whatever reason, thought it wrong to fight, were compelled to state their position in terms of this somewhat primitive and unscientific conception of "conscience." " USA Conscientious Objection is NOT an Easy or a Quick Way Out of the Military - Conscientious Objectors - Peace-by-Peace - Step-by-Step Know Army Regulation 600-43 Refer: http://www.geocities.com/conscientious_objectors/CO_help.html USA Conscientious Objection - Request Classification as a Conscientious Objector - Know Army Regulation 600-43 Refer: http://www.geocities.com/conscientious_objectors/requesting.html USA Conscientious Objection - The Worst--Waiting for a Decision - Know Army Regulation 600-43 Refer: http://www.geocities.com/conscientious_objectors/Waiting_and_Harrassment.html USA Conscientious Objection - Conscientious Objector Application - Know Army Regulation 600-43 Refer: http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/6181/applic.htm Called into the office to be interrogated by my platoon leader and platoon sergeant. Questioned about why I hadn't come to them first and what exactly was the nature of my beliefs that I would want to be discharged from the military. Told them that I had recently "converted" to atheism and my beliefs were not religious but moral and ethical. Specifically, I objected to the enforcement of laws, immigration control and drug interdiction, which were in my opinion immoral and unethical. I could not enforce those laws personally and I refused to give aid and support to anyone who did enforce those laws. My platoon sergeant, a "born again" Christian patriot, considered this subversive and said that if it were up to him, I would go to Leavenworth for treason, but that it was out of his hands at this point. From the Oxford Dictionary conscientious objector: one who refuses to conform to the requirements of a public enactment on the plea of conscientious scruple; esp. such an objector to military service (cf. CONCHY) 1899 [see OBJECTOR]. 1910 Blackw. Mag. Mar. 424/1 Having quite properly insisted that vaccination should be universal and compulsory, it presently admits ‘the conscientious objector’. 1916 A. HUXLEY Let. 2 Mar. (1969) 92 Conscientious objectors were not so disgustingly hectored as they seem to have been in London. 1940 Economist 2 Mar. 371/1 The Act lays down that one who claims that he conscientiously objects to being registered in the military service register, or to performing military service, or to performing combatant duties, may apply to be registered as a conscientious objector and therefore to be exempt from military service. 1966 C. M. BOWRA Memories 1898-1939 xiv. 352 Knowing how cruelly conscientious objectors had been treated in the First World War, I was determined to see that their cases were put intelligibly before the tribunals. objector: One who objects or makes an objection; one who brings forward a reason or argument against something, or expresses disapproval of or disagreement with it. 1640 BP. HALL Episc. II. vi. 119 Let me put the Objector in minde that [etc.]. 1645 MILTON Tetrach. Wks. 1738 l. 235 (Deut. xxiv. 1) If these objecters might be the judges of human frailty. 1654 WHITLOCK Zootomia 496, I..feare not the half-witted Objectours that I may meet with. 1722 WOLLASTON Relig. Nat. iv. 62 Another question, supposed..to be proposed by an objector. 1861 [see OBJECTEE]. 1883 FROUDE Short Stud. IV. II. iv. 215 Expressions..qualified to satisfy objectors. 1899 Whitaker's Alm. 400/1 A conscientious objector to vaccination can..escape all penalties. conchy: Abbrev. of ‘conscientious objector’ (viz. to military service): see CONSCIENTIOUS a., 1b 1917 Daily Mail 9 Oct. 2/3 The assembly of eleven hundred ‘conscientious’ objectors at one spot, Princetown, on Dartmoor, where they are known as ‘conchies’. 1917 Blackw. Mag. Nov. 698/1 So the Conchys, as the Bishop of Exeter calls them, live in a golden age. 1918 ‘IAN HAY’ Last Million vii. 93 What are yours [sc. sons] in? The Circumloosion Office, or the Conchie's Battalion? 1923 C. S. LEWIS Let. 4 Feb. (1966) 85 He felt it his duty to be a ‘conchie’ if there was another war. 1928 GALSWORTHY Swan Song II. xi. 195 Conshies and Communists and ProfiteersI'd have had 'em all against a wall. 1936 M. PLOWMAN Faith called Pacifism 46 Of course I knew that from one standpoint I was only another adjectival ‘Conchy’ letting his pals down. 1939 War Illustr. 14 Oct. 154/2 First German ‘Conchie’. 1951 Landfall V. 21 The deal that is going on here is worse than the one the Conchies got. 1960 [see BEARDIE 2].