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Quote by David Howarth

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The Shetland Bus: A WWII Epic of Escape, Survival, and Adventure

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David Howarth

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“Sometimes, we need to make decisions based not on what we wanted in the past but on what we need now—what we must do to move forward. This could require us to leave behind things that are important to us. It might involve a sacrifice for someone we love. It doesn’t mean that you are weak or are giving up. It’s okay to quit, to stop doing something and try something else. Instead, it shows that you are adapting, learning, and possibly even growing. And that you are strong enough to embrace change even though it’s scary.”

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“It never failed to amaze me, even after all these centuries, that the elements cared not for human pain. That the sky and the stars paid no heed to the obliterated corpses below. That the birds still sang each morning, no matter how many men had fallen the night before. Sometimes that sense of insignificance was a comfort. But here, languishing in a rotten maze carved into the ruined earth, I felt nothing but despair. How simple and beautiful life could have been. How far that humanity had strayed.”

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“My parents did their best to instill a sense of normalcy into our lives even though a war and ethnic cleansing were raging all around us. The battle between Iran and Iraq was fought WWII Stalingrad-style with trenches, tanks, and continuous artillery fire. The sound of whistles marked the moment soldiers were ordered to move into minefields and face the barrage of machine guns. More than a million people died on both sides. And here is the kicker: no land or resources were gained by either country.”

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“As I got to know the Afghan soldiers better, they began to open up and share stories about the injustices they had suffered at the hands of the Iranians. Often, Afghans would sneak into Iran and work under the table so they could support their families. When they had saved enough, they would take their earnings and try to sneak back into Afghanistan. The Iranian border guards however, knew what was going on and would often stop them and rob them of their earnings. Our mutual dislike of Iranians was something that united us.”

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“The psychology behind the decision to stay or to go is complicated and doesn’t depend on the intensity of immediate danger. Some people are too old, too sick, or too fatalistic to move, even as shells fall nearby and as their windows are blown out. Others, like Denys, have family they don’t want to abandon. Some are just too attached to the comforts of their apartments, to their household possessions, and can’t imagine going to a remote, unfamiliar city—even if doing so would likely save their and their children’s lives. This lack of imagination, or outright self-delusion, rattled me at times. But such an inclination to minimize danger, and to believe oneself to be somehow protected, is natural.”

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