“an honored friend” [SIGN]
The British of Sherlock Holmes's time were no strangers to war; in fact, John H. Watson, MD was a military man who undoubtedly saw his fair share of death when he was overseas.
And the Canon mentions its share of wars — the Crimean War (GLOR, LADY), the Second Afghan War (SIGN), the U.S. Civil War (FIVE, CARD), the great war of Napoleon (SIXN), the Franco-Prussian War (NOBL), potential war in Europe if a document wasn't recovered (SECO), the Civil War involving Charles I (VALL), the Boer War (BLAN), and of course what would eventually become known as World War I (LAST).
And then of course, there is the unfortunate Colonel James Barclay, who died not in the line of duty, but nevertheless died as a military man, felled by a just providence decades after he sent his romantic rival, Corporal Henry Wood, into harm's way in "The Crooked Man." Barclay must have assumed that Wood perished in the arranged ambush, but we all know the rest of that story...
In just about every country in the world, we can count the honored dead who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Let us be mindful of the wise and timeless words of Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg:
“It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain.”
Baker Street Elementary follows the original adventures of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, as they and their friends work through the issues of elementary school in Victorian London. An archive of all previous episodes can be viewed at the Baker Street Elementary website.
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