Absence of malice. I love that term but can never figure out quite what that means. I think it is a term used mainly in journalism. An ethics thing, "all though what I'm writing about is accurate, is it true?" Military bureaucracy has a long history of portraying an accurate yet untrue image of individuals. Example, Harry 'Breaker' Morant . In the case of Herbert, I get the impression that a highly decorated soldier ended his career by reporting atrocities.
There is a lot to be discussed in that last sentence. Take away the man's personal shortcomings and hearsay and what do we have? Another case like the one where the commander of a Japanese submarine that sank a USN cruiser was a witness for the prosecution against the commander of the USN cruiser for allegedly being responsible for getting his own ship sunk and causing a series of embarrassing situations for the USN that resulted in additional loss of life and limb. The irony being did the Japanese commander have absence of malice after the war was over and trail began. Lives are ruined because life isn't fair and that's a fact. If Herbert's story was not only accurate but as well true than he will go to his grave with a clear conscious. That is all that matters. I believe.
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