Mennonite Warriors: Pacifist Killers

Dunkard Mennonite Seal

In the early 80s, when I first lived in Lancaster County, I was a tank commander in a Reserve Armor unit based in Reading, Pa. One of the soldiers, a tank gunner, was a Dunkard Mennonite who told his family that he was a medic. This odd young man bought "Soldier of Fortune" and other gun and mercenary magazines. When we were in the field, he talked endlessly about various ways to kill with his bare hands. He owned many knives and liked to talk about strangling the enemy with piano wire.

M60A1 Main Battle Tank, Not an Ambulance

He wanted to remain in his community so he kept his real job and interests to himself. But he loved being a combat soldier, and training with combat soldiers, even if his family thought he was a medic.

Lancaster is very conservative, about 80% Republican outside the city of Lancaster, but also very Mennonite and Amish. So there are a lot of pacifist conservatives.

Recently, I overheard a Mennonite farmer who never served in the military talking about the coming Civil War caused by the "Liberals" who are pushing the nation further into sin. His definition of sin is, of course, things Liberals do. He clearly relishes the possibility of Civil War and talks about it like the tank gunner used to talk about piano wire. He has his military-style weaponry ready for the Liberal onslaught.

These guys were brought up to turn the other cheek, but have secret lives in which they are warriors, at least in their own minds.

It's not that Mennonites don't own guns, all the Mennonite schools close for the first day of deer hunting season, just like every other school in Lancaster County. But the guns are for hunting, not weapons of war.

Both Amish and Mennonites were hated during the draft for their Conscientious Objector status. They got rich during World War II.