Was some how brought back to this.
And I remembered weeping and aching so badly after this part.
The lyrics to the song, Iroh sangs have always hit me hard.
Because of the way I interpreted it.
(the Armour worn to protect them)
(Are discarded to the sea)
(the teenagers that were send)
(The Soldiers that Survives)
(Returns as Broken, but home none the less)
This was how I interpreted it. It wasn't just about Iroh losing his son. It was about him losing a Comrade, losing a fellow Soldier too.
Imagine, arriving at a war zone, with Bodies littered, comrades All laying around. All that were once healthy young teens. Thousands millions all fallen.
Then by the shores, (Because Fire Nation are on islands and need to to travel to Mainland), their armoured stripped or still attached, floating and wash ashore. Like shells, that was meant to protect the innards of the clam, broken, unwanted and wash 'clean'.
Those that died, were all somebody's kid. They were their boy, their little boy. Yet, the came home, only as memories.
Those that survived, they came back alive, but dead inside. To be call Brave and all, was not to compliement them, but to encourage them, to brave on, and continue living with the hell they went through.
I wrote a Chinese version, while thinking about it.
Also, For the Frontliners! Stay STRONG! For the Rest... STAY HOME!!