What Prince Harry should have said!
I recently attended a fancy dress party in the costume of a Nazi storm trooper. And before I am critiscised by my fellow soldiers and military historians, this was not a Nazi Uniform correcty depicted or acturately portrayed, but it was easily and intentionally identifiable as such.
My purpose was not to offend. And to those of you both here, around the world and in particulary in Germany who were offended by my actions, I offer my unreserved personal apology. I did not want to hurt you nor desigrate the memory of your loved ones who may have made the ultimate scrifice 50 years ago.
Fisty years ago is more than twice my lifetime and for those of you listening today who fought in or against that uniform, twice your lifetimes past would be about 1850. For my generation, twice removed from yours, for we are your great grandchilden, 1945 is indeed as much anceint history to us as 1850 seesm to you.
Evil is neither a national trait nor a political one. Evil is the outcome of the thoughts and actions of individuals. And there are evil individuals in all societies, in all the nations of the world. In mid last century, that evil became institutionalised and nationalised under the Nazi party of Germany and evil feeding on evil was large in the world and in all the countries of the world. Atrocities were committed. Unspeakable acts were done.
But now, two denerations past, the great grandchildren of Germany and the great grand children of the rest of the world should be able to put aside that awful decade and move beyond it.
The germans I know are my friends and colleagues. They are my allies and compatriots. They are not Nazi. They are not evil.
The uniform I depicted is a relic. It is time to treat it as such.
I know that some of you will be truly and deepy hurt by my words now as you were by my actions. I know that some of you live each day missing someone in your life thaty you loved who made the ultimate scrifice and who never retruned from those dreadful days when evil was rampart in the world.
In my own family, and as a soldier, I am called by the catchcry, “Lest we forget” and I do not wish that we as a generation should forget and I certainly do not forget. I hope and pray that I shall never have to emulate their deeds and I hope and pray that my children and grandchilden shall never have to make the ultimate sacrifice as some of my forbears have done.
I stand ready to do so if my country calls on me to do so and should evil again prevail in the world, I will be there, ready to defend this country that I love and this lifestyle and birthright which I inherited. I shall be ready to serve as was my father and my great grandfather to defend the values that we believe in. Democracy, equality and justice shall not want for a defender on my watch.
I also hope and pray that the battles that I am called to serve are against a different evil. An evil no less abhorent.
I hope and I pray that my battles are against the evils of predujice and global warming and hunger and lack of opportunity and disease and not against my fellow men who are caught up in a war they don’t want under a banner not of their design in an evil war against good men.
So I chose a costume to wear to a fancy dress party that depicted a relic form two generations ago. The choice may have been poor and with hindsight, the offense it caused may have been forseeable and for my insensitivity to your feelings, I apologise unreservedly.
But I say to you today, its time – not time to forget – but time to forgive. Its time to unite with men of good and to forgive those who comitted evil against us and to beg them to forgive the evil that we committed against them.
Let us then consign this uniform to the past and to the childrens play box and the costume shop and focus instead on the next 50 years and the battles against evil yet to be won.