Quote:
Originally posted by cletrac
My cousin fought in Italy and he used to tell about the Ghurkas coming up behind you at night. One would feel the boots to see if they were laced right and the other would feel the dog tags on your neck. If you didn't pass both tests you got the kukri treatment.
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Allow me to preface my remarks by stating that I have nothing but the utmost respect for veterans of WW I, WW II, Korea, Cyprus, Egypt, Bosnia et al.
Having said that I'd like to comment on the veracity of many stories that have passed down over the decades from veterans. I've listened quietly and respectfully to the exploits of many veterans; Canadian, British, American, and German included. Fascinating tales all! Sometimes however, I know the story being told isn't accurate to the nth degree, and that is fine also. Failing memories, hyperbole, and sometimes 3rd person relating of tales has allowed a few non-facts to become part of the story. There is no conscious attempt at revising history, it is simply a part of the evolution of the relating of our past. I too have heard of Ghurkas and some Commando groups using boot laces as a method of identification. Personally, I don't believe it. Just too much room for error. Not all soldiers would have had their boot laces tied the same way. Some boots would have been caked in mud. And you have to ask the question, when there are so many better ways to identify a soldier i.e. helmet, kit, smell (yes smell!), language, location, uniform etc. etc. why fumble around in the bottom of a foxhole to check bootlaces? As for the dogtags, consider the difficulty of fumbling through 2 or 3 or 4 layers of clothing to find the dog tags without alerting the soldier! Impossible! Ghurkas are some of the world's most skillful stalkers. One could easily sneak up on me and slit my throat, no problem. Could one sneak up on me and fumble through my clothes to find my dogtags while another crawled around my feet without eliciting a response from me? No way Jose! I would in all likelihood suffer the same fate...slit throat...but my compatriots would be aroused and the non-efficacy of this method would soon be apparent to the Ghurkas.
My humble opinion...it never happened.
