All Wars Are Crimes

Civil War Descendant Reviews current Conflicts with historical perspective.

Learn more, visit: mylastcall.com

(NEW YORK) - John Parsons can feel the ghost of his great-great grandfather, a Civil War combatant, looking over his shoulder every time he reads about all the wars unfolding around the world today.

“Whenever I read about war crimes in reference to our military conflicts today, and some from our nation’s history, I feel like my ancestors are shaking me by the lapels so the tragic irony doesn’t escape me,” said Parsons, author of Unselfish: A Civil War Saga (mylastcall.com), which uses letters from real Civil War soldiers as the basis for its story.

“After the Civil War, there were not ‘war crime’ trials. There was no commission or body set up to address the misconduct of soldiers during that war. You see, back then, they understood a truth that we are just now beginning to understand today: All wars are crimes.”

Parsons, a retired educator and Civil War historian, believes that while the technology and theaters for war have changed over the last century and a half, the true nature of war has not.

“We sanitize war today,” he said. “We dress it up in technology, make it impersonal by using drones and smart bombs. We attack from the air, or from miles away with guided missiles.

In those letters is the story of a war where men climbed hills, covered in filth and sweat, and when they got to the top, they killed another man with a bayonet, a rifle or even their bare hands. And as I felt my great-great-grandfather’s ghostly hand on my shoulder as I read his letters, I realized that the method by which we kill each other doesn’t matter.

It’s enough that we kill, and that we do so willingly. Waging war is criminal, and we must stop being so quick to raise our arms against others. At least, that’s what my great-great grandfather told me, so now I’m telling it to you.”

“Man too easily settles conflicts with war instead of words”

About John Parsons

John Parsons is a 77-year-old retired career educator and administrator. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in teaching from the State University of New York at Oswego, and a Master’s degree in educational administration from the University of Rochester.  He taught industrial arts and math, and was a school administrator for 31 years. He lives in upstate New York with his wife of 56 years.