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I was drafted into the Army when I was 19 and came out at age 22. Most people that I knew didn't think they'd come home alive. I didn't think I would either, so I was happy when I did.

I was a soldier in WWII. The last couple of months of the war I was actually in combat.

It's hard for people sometimes to relate to me. They weren't in the military, they weren't injured overseas in Iraq, they weren't burned, they didn't go through 33 surgeries, or two and a half years in the hospital.

I was born in a family with a strong military background, so I chose to be a soldier.

I went through some real challenges growing up. I joined the Army two weeks out of high school when I was 17, and never looked back.

My very identity as a soldier came to an abrupt end. I'd been soldiering as long as I'd been shaving. Suddenly I'd been told I could no longer soldier, and it felt as though no one really cared if I ever shaved again.

After I left the Marines in '46, I wanted to stay in the Marines; I was very happy - I loved that life.

I was born as a soldier and will die as one.

As a soldier, I survived World War I when most of my comrades did not.

I am one of the million or more male residents of the United Kingdom, who a year ago had no special yearning towards military life, but who joined the army after war was declared.