The old soldier bowed his head in the steady rain at Maitland and silently mouthed the words to the Ode. Perhaps he was thinking of his wife, Dot - "a nurse married a soldier," he said later with a glint in his eye and a smile. Perhaps he was thinking of the American soldier "a million miles from home" whom he befriended in care over a shared love of music. Perhaps he was thinking of any number of years of service he gave in Korea and Vietnam.
It is impossible to know. But later, he would say that he looked forward to these quiet moments during the service to be among friends and to remember.
