Originally Posted By: ed good

why then, were they so eager to volunteer, by the 100's of thousands to go off to war to kill their fellow countrymen?



I don't know exactly why.
What I do know from wars the boys in my country went off to fight is this.
Economics. They were at home on the farm with three or four or more of them together on the home lot. he farm could not support all of them & they were living in poverty. They had to go into the big world sometime soon & the army gave them the opportunity of pay, food, housing, adventure, camaraderie & maybe a future.
The biggest employer at the time, just sign up & the army looks after the rest of it, easy.

They were fed a line by the recruiters & knew no different & good old Dad wanting to be shot of some of this fast maturing boisterous mob, encouraged them in what the whole community was led to believe was a good cause. In a lot of cases the ones who chose not to go were sent a white feather & that shame was never lived down.

Could this apply there ?

O.M