"the 'glory' of war heralded by flag-waving, the marching cadence of drums, the tear-stained but proud faces of those waving them off..." and "blood and guts and fear and loss, the spirit-brutalizing panic, the empty seat at the table, the generation gone forever..."

They're both true. Without the one you wouldn't have the other. And Remembrance Day is the third part of the triptych.

Here's a song I wrote about it once, all the three parts.

Remembrance Day

I remember the day when first we marched away,
And so gaily they cheered us in the crowd,
And it all seemed so clear, we were here and they were there,
"Do and Dare, go on out and make us proud"
But it wasn't quite the same
When we came to where we came.
It was plain there was nothing we could do,
But we're here for the show,
We'll be here until we go,
Don't we know it won't be long before we're through.

And we're down in the dark as our world is blown apart,
With our hearts in the bottom of our boots.
And we're tired and we're sore,
And we just can't take much more,
And at times it seems we're treated worse than brutes.
But hear us joke, hear us sing,
Hear us say "God Save the King",
Why you'd think we were happy here in hell,
And we'll stand side by side,
And we'll never say goodbye,
And we'll die, and they'll say that we done well.

Well it's past and it's gone,
And it's over, right or wrong.
We were young and we answered to the call.
And it's all far away,
but it seems like yesterday,
Though they say it all meant nothing after all.

And each November once again we will gather in the rain,
We still remain, though we're fading fast away,
And God knows it's getting late,
As we drink to long lost mates,
And to the day we'll be together once again.
So hear us joke, hear us sing,
Hear us say "God Save the King",
Why you'd think we were happy here in hell,
And we'll stand side by side,
And we'll never say goodbye,
And we'll die, and they'll say that we done well.