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From: cga66@ihlpy.att.com (Patrick V Kauffold)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: CHILDREN AND COMBAT
Message-ID: <1990Dec15.013604.15642@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 15 Dec 90 01:36:04 GMT
References: <1990Dec12.031813.10959@cbnews.att.com>
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From: cga66@ihlpy.att.com (Patrick V Kauffold)
>From article <1990Dec12.031813.10959@cbnews.att.com>, by    DEPLETE%DUKEMVS.BITNET@ncsuvm.ncsu.edu:
> 
> 7. What about the German experience?
> 
Some years ago, I had a long conversation with a man and his wife
who had been age 10-12 in 1945 in Germany.  Both had been Hitler
Youth.  Both had been involved in the final defense of the Fatherland
against the US forces.

The most striking thing they expressed was that the experience was
FUN!  Great fun.  The man had been part of an 88 crew which had scored
hits on US vehicles; the woman had served in a hospital.  Both had
seen friends and relatives die during the final days of fighting.
Their memories, however, seemed to be mostly positive, happy ones.

Until the late 19th century, most armies/navies have made use of children of
age 12-15; midshipmen were commonly sent to sea on warships; officer 
cadets learned their trade "on the job".  Drummers, orderlies, and
messengers were some of the jobs of children.

Of course, most people were considered adults at age 15 or 16, again until
late in the 19th century.