Ireland: Government to Pardon Soldiers Who Fought for Britain in World War II

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/08/world/europe/ireland-government-to-pardon-soldiers-who-fought-for-britain-in-world-war-ii.html

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The government said Tuesday that it was pardoning nearly 5,000 men who deserted Ireland’s armed forces to fight for Britain during World War II. Ireland was neutral during the war. Because of a government blacklist, the men suffered job discrimination and loss of pension rights, condemning their families to poverty. Justice Minister Alan Shatter said a bill pardoning the men, most posthumously, and apologizing to their families should remove “any tarnish from their name or reputation” and highlight the reality that by joining the British military they were protecting Ireland’s independence, despite official hostility back home.