“You had no way to know. Pleasant-mannered men will not tell you of that side of the war because it is distressing. Pleasant-mannered women, like the countess, will not hear of it in their presence. As a result, the ugly parts are largely not thought about by those who did not cross the channel.” A bitter weariness flickered across his face. “I cannot help but feel that if we had fewer pleasant-mannered people, then perhaps there would also be fewer of these hideous wars.”
My husband's grandfather would not speak of the war until right before he died and even then we didn't get all the stories.
