Folkiedave...you'd be amazed how many people missed the point, including the Govt and the Ministry of Defence. The key line is "the nails that pierced his skin" obviously a reference to nailbombs, but also a reference to crucifixion. Here were two warring factions, both killing each other, and both professing to have the truth about Christianity. So I put Christ in a uniform and he gave his life again that others might live.it may seem a naive song now but this was then, early 1970's.
The uniform was probably the step too far for many who could only see a soldier as a symbol and not as a human being.
At the moment we have the same thing with the torture pictures. Everyone is concentrating on the evil doers, but the ones who put aside their uniforms and their allegiances and their buddying to get these pictures released are the interesting ones. What has it taken for them to take such risks? In the end their humanity won out against their training and peer pressure. Their lives will be very difficult from this point, but if you want heroes...they're it.