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-Short Attention Span Theater-
War in The Blood - Lieutenant General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart.
2025-01-01
[Field Ethos] Upon learning that a soldier had been shot in the face, head, stomach, groin, ankle, leg, hip, or ear, was blinded in one eye, survived two plane crashes, tunneled out of a POW camp, fought in three wars, or tore off their own fingers when a doctor declined to amputate them, you’d no doubt call that soldier lucky to be alive. To discover that all of the above happened to one specific soldier and that soldier lived, you’d call that man a badass.

Aside from calling him a badass, I’d suggest using his name: Lieutenant General Sir Adrian Paul Ghislain Carton de Wiart.

Born in Brussels in 1880, he skipped out of boarding school, lied about his age, and joined the British in the Second Boer War in 1899. Looking back later in life, he opined, "At that moment, I knew once and for all that war was in my blood." It was the idea of war, and not service to the country, that he sought. In his memoirs, he remarked, "If the British didn’t fancy me, I would offer myself to the Boers."

Adrian received his first injuries in South Africa during the Second Boer War. He was shot twice: once in the stomach and once in the groin.

In 1914, while en-route to Somaliland to serve with their Camel Corps, Carton de Wiart took two bullets to the face and lost his left eye and part of his ear. A witness later recalled how cool, calm, and collected Adrian appeared: "He didn’t check his stride, but I think the bullet stung him up as his language was awful." Carton de Wiart received the Distinguished Service Order for this experience.
Posted by:Besoeker

#1  The very best to everyone in this New Year.
Posted by: Besoeker   2025-01-01 07:48  

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