He had faced the long voyage to America with trepidation, doing it only for Melba because he knew she wanted to see her family again. His preference had always been to remain home and to be returning brought him only pleasure. His youth also engendered an unrealistic view of war. No doubt, what was happening in Europe was a righteous fight where men could prove their valor, defeat the enemy and return to the cheers of their countrymen. He fantasized about what he would do if he were in the army, carrying a weapon as he joined his fellow soldiers on a mission to free others from tyranny. He’d read about the many wars and pivotal battles that his British brothers had waged for King and Country. The Boer War, most recent, and not so very far away, captured his imagination. He devoured every book he could find about the conflict that finally tamed the hated Dutch rebels and solidified English dominance. The heroic dispatches, penned by Winston Churchill, had galvanized all of Australia. The narratives of the writer’s own travails especially captivated Aaron as the young Churchill valiantly played cat and mouse with the Boers who scoured the country, trying to find and kill him so that the truth of their atrocities would be silenced.
