Death Before Dishonor

[Hardball]

It is or once was the Army Special Forces motto. Where did this come from? What is the history? What does it mean to you? Does it have an application for Martial Artist? Just wondering.

[jubaji]

Yeah, according to some sources I've read if a Samurai was injured on his back he was honor-bound to commit seppuku. I reckon like most such dramatic 'codes' it was rarely actually adhered to, but it reflects an ideal anyway.

[chillaplata]

In the hoplite formations favored by the ancient Greeks, a man's shield protected the man on his left as well as the man himself, and the cohesion of the phalanx and its shield wall was essential to the effectiveness of the unit. A man who discarded his shield, presumably so he could run away, thus jeopardized his fellow soldiers and potentially the entire army, and was accordingly regarded as a disgraceful coward.

So when the Spartans went off to war, according to legend, their wives and mothers would tell them to "come back wearing your shields or on them".

I know this because one of my teachers in high school said this to us as we were heading off for a competition...

[Blue Wave Gym]

I thought the jarheads used it too