Lighter, these are not the stories made up by a few romantic soldiers in their memoirs. These are stories told by many many soldiers over and over in their letters home and in their diaries.

Seems to me wishing it not so flies in the face of the obvious and well known truth as told by many individuals to their loved ones at home, as well as by official dispatches by their commanders.

Reading as much history and as many personal memoirs as I have over the years, it is not difficult for me to believe or understand - and I thik Little Hawk's "different time, and a different sensibility" comments are right on. And the example he cites is a modern day example of a similar thing.

In modern times we easily underestimate the importance of the sense of duty and loyalty men of this generation had.