Monuments to the boys and men killed in the First World War stand in every Czech village. They stand as a sign of the senselessness of war. Our people were forced to fight for the House of Habsburg, yet the fate of the nation depended largely on the Habsburgs losing. It was especially sad and frightening where they were pitted against brother nations – the Serbs and Russians.
It was especially sad and frightening where Czech people were pitted against brother nations – the Serbs and Russians.
But when we look at the wars that have been fought in Europe in the centuries before, we see the same pattern almost every time. The men who fought there had no interest in the outcome of the war. If “their” country had lost, they would have continued to live in the same cottages, with the same women, 
doing the same jobs and raising the same children. They’d just be paying taxes to someone else. The books may portray it as something spectacular, but from the point of view of the men driven to the slaughter, there was nothing spectacular about it. Just senseless killing. As if the lives and pain of ordinary people had no value.
But it’s more complicated than that. When once in a great while a real war comes, when you have to defend your homes and your nation, it suddenly turns out that those who are used to fighting are much better off. And it’s not just in technology or warrior skills. It’s in the people, in the character, in the culture, in the spirit of the nation.
A nation that has its graves of the fallen is different than one that does not. A nation where boys listen to the stories of old warriors is different.
A nation that has its veterans is different than one that does not. A nation that has its graves of the fallen is different than one that does not. A nation where boys listen to the stories of old warriors is different. It is stronger.
This is despite the fact that many men are missing and others are still affected by the war many years later.
The nation needs its warriors, its veterans. They remind us of bravery, resilience, discipline, sacrifice, camaraderie… and they remind us of the immensity of ordinary life in peace, even with all its worries, problems and injustices.
The sacrifice is not only made by the men in the field. We need to see their wives, too. Even the wives of those who eventually returned, but they still lived in fear for years. That includes the mothers of the soldiers. Children growing up without their fallen fathers. Wives who won’t marry because the one who could have married them died in vain. And many others.
War is pointless. But a nation that gets used to fighting will perish.
War is pointless. But a nation that gets used to fighting will perish.
Let us appreciate that we have our veterans. That we can remember the heroes of World War II and the fallen of World War I. To honor their graves and their memory. And let us learn to reckon that the time of wars is not over, and that the men of our generations may one day be asked to be ready.