'Ride of the Valkyries' a fitting accompaniment to supreme sacrifice

Written in the 19th century Ride of the Valkyries truly is a classic, and as Guy Sajer put it in his true book based on his experiences as a German soldier on the eastern front 'a fitting accompaniment to supreme sacrifice.'

Ride of the Valkyries is probably most recognised in war (and movie) terms from the helicopter assault on the village in Apocalypse Now in which Ride of the Valkyries is played through the battle on loud speakers.



While in real life in his book 'A Forgotten Soldier' during the Battle of Memel Sajer describes the following.

"A dozen dirty-gray tanks went out to meet an inexorable fate. The black crosses painted on their gray sides, the colour of our misery, were scarcely visible. Inside the turrets "Ride of the Valkyries" was coming over short wave radios - a fitting accompaniment to supreme sacrifice"

Could you just imagine that sight and those circumstances, not that I felt sorry for the Nazi's or anything its just sitting in a tank listening to Ride of the Valkyries before you sacrifice yourself is messed up for "the real world".