In 1994 my wife and I took a two-week tour in Europe.  We were part of a group of veterans along with
 their wives from my WWII infantry regiment.  It was a 50th anniversary tour covering all of the areas 
we fought through from the latter part of 1944 till Germany's surrender on May 8th, 1945.  

    In many of the cities and villages we visited, we were greeted by their elected officials, townspeople, 
and schoolchildren.   We attended ceremonies, commemorations, and receptions honoring the part that 
our infantry division and regiment played in their liberation.

    The hospitality and warmth displayed by the people in Belgium, Luxembourg, Northern France, and 
the Czech Republic was overwhelming, to say the least.   As for Germany and Austria, we were treated 
cordially and with respect, but understandably, without the same level  of warmth and hospitality we 
encountered in the more liberated areas.

    The most heart-rendering and emotional part of our anniversary experience were our visits to the 
Hamm American Military Cemetery at Luxembourg, where General Patton is buried, and the St. Avoid 
American Military Cemetery in Northern France.  Following the placement list afforded us, we were 
able to find and pay homage to many of our fallen buddies.

    Of all the misadventures that mankind has cultivated, massacres are the most evil and war the most 
obscene.  And who knows this better than our Armenian people.  Yet, with all of our tragic past, 
there are still many among us who would readily advocate conflict before peaceful negotiations and 
compromise.  Though their feelings may be well-founded, they have yet to realize that blood does not 
wash blood.

    From my personal experience, I have found that most civilized people, regardless of nationality 
or race, want the same basic things out of life.   In short, during times of religious and political 
strife, it's not opposing ideologies that suffer most -- it's the helpless people caught between them.

    When I finally got home from WWII on January 21, 1945, I told my wife, "Every day I live from 
now on is a bonus."

    From September, 1944 until the war ended in Europe on May 8, 1945, I wasn't very optimistic about 
getting home in one piece.  As a matter of fact, the infantry unit that I was a part of had to spend 
an additional two weeks mopping up fanatical pockets of German SS out of the forests around Kremze, 
Czechoslovakia.  They had chosen to die rather than surrender.  Twenty-four hours earlier when the 
war in Europe had officially ended, we were in Horitz, a small town in Bavaria, taking prisoners 
and collecting guns.

     Technically, the European conflict was over, but we weren't celebrating.  Instead, we were 
trucked into Czechoslovakia and our butts were on the line again because a small group of diehard 
Nazi bastards weren't ready to accept the fact that their immortal paperhanging dictator was 
dead along with the ‘god' status he had tried to create.  And for those two weeks while we were 
there flushing out these extremists, none of us were overjoyed for being chosen to do the job.  
As for myself, as I'm sure it was for most of my buddies, the possibility of dying during the war 
was one thing, but dying here in a remote forest in Czechoslovakia after Germany had surrendered 
because a handful of Nazi nitwits wanted to become martyrs, was another thing altogether.   
It goes without saying, I was really mad and if the Grim Reaper had me on his schedule, you 
can bet your life I wasn't going to go without kicking and screaming.  In truth, I was scared.  
More so, in fact, than I had been during the 200 or more days I had survived on the line during 
the actual combat.  As things turned out, however, we all came through without a scratch. As for 
those fanatical Germans?  They got their wish.  They all died bravely.  Besides, we had a 
long-standing score to settle with the SS.

    My most fervent prayer for the world at large is to realize the futility and suffering 
that goes hand-in-hand with armed conflict.  During the war and even after I arrived home, 
I never thought that I would ever be fortunate enough to see this new millennium.  And if there 
are any left in this world who still believe in the expediency of war, let me remind them: What 
we have today in technology and weapons of mass destruction, makes what we had during WW II look 
like pea-shooters.  And if there is another world war, not one surviving soul on this earth, 
will be exempt from seeing death and desolation.

    War is man's worst obscenity and WW Three could very well be the "war to end all wars" 
because there may not be enough of our human world left to fight in a WW Four.  


                        Joseph Vosbikian