Gentlemen, Your verdict

[Travis Silcox]

I read a short story called "Gentlemen Your Verdict" by an author who was a canadian artillery guy (gunner) during WW2 (apparently it was an old bar room argument according to author)

(during 1947)
Essentially it was about a submarine crew who crashed on the bottom of the sea somewhere, and they couldn‘t be rescued for 7 days (due to storm). There are 30 crewmembers, Only the captain knows they have air for only 2 days. Quickly and Descievely(after recontacting HQ to re-confirm rescue time) the Captain orders the 2 IC to round up the men. Once the men came, the captian told them he had good news, and he took out a bottle of licker and poured each man but 5 family men a drink. The Captain told the men he was proud of them, then toasted and all the men but the 5 who didn‘t drink died(very quickly) from poison.

The Captian told the 5 remaining (3 officers, 2 NCOs) of the air supply and when rescue would come. He then contacted HQ and told them the 5 men had absolutley no knowledge of what happened (killing the 25 men).

The Captian then joined the crew and killed himself via the poison

The 5 guys got questioned at the court martial
and that‘s how the story was told
--

Anyways, the questions are as following

- Is the Captian a murderer or a Hero?
- What gives him the right to play god
- would you kill 25 to save 5?

We had a huge discussion in English class about this and I was just wondering what your thoughts are on this.

Thanks
Travis Silcox

 

[johy33]

Well first thing you must know is it was 15 men who sacrificed for 5 men.
And 5 men knew what was happening.

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[aesop081]

New record for necroposting ?

 

[Michael OLeary]

From and including the date this thread started: Wednesday, February 7, 2001
To and including today: Sunday, December 16, 2007

It is 2504 days from the start date to the end date, end date included

Or 6 years, 10 months, 10 days including the end date

Welcome to Milnet.ca   

 

[HollywoodHitman]

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

 

[JAWS228]

If you re still pondering this, methinks you should move into an easier English class  ;D

 

[ChilDog]

.

Well first thing you must know is it was 15 men who sacrificed for 5 men.
And 5 men knew what was happening.

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The 5 saved men weren't actually aware of Lieutenant-Commander Oram's decision: he just made them draw lots, and they were as shocked as the men who were killed. All drank, but the five who were saved (and/including Oram...i can't remember if he was part of the five) used white mugs different from the others.  And this IS a somewhat difficult moral conflict; we spent a little while on it in my English class

 

[daftandbarmy]

If they were infantry, the CO would have asked the troops for ideas resulting in everyone making it out alive, and in time for closing time at the pub.

 

[benny88]

New record for necroposting ?

Without a doubt. How did he even find that? It must have been on page one hundred and something!

 

[Yrys]

Without a doubt. How did he even find that? It must have been on page one hundred and something!

Not exactly. There is only 20 pages in Military Literature and Film board. He seems to have gone in the first one
to the last one, which is the first one chronically speaking...

Édith : I rephrase my sentence...

 

[benny88]

Not exactly. There is only 20 pages in Military Literature and Film board.

  Oh, true.

He seems to hace gone in the first one...

  Well it's in the first page now that it's been resurrected, but it I checked the date of the first post to the rest of the threads, and it would have been dead last when it was revived. Wild.

 

[ChilDog]

He probably found it the same way I did; Google : )