The Smell of Perfume Amidst the Smell of Death

World War I: one of the bloodiest wars in the history of Europe. Millions of women watched from their front doors crying as they watched their young sons walk from boyhood toward probable destruction. Would they return as monsters from all they witnessed? Would they return missing limbs? Would they return...?
Sixty-five million men took part in a massive melee started by one lone man with a gun. A young misguided soul who believed that his own hopes and dreams would be met in the killing of Archduke Ferdinand. Of all these men, 20 million returned wounded while 10 million met their end on the battlefield.
Much has been made of the Christmas truces that happened during that time. Men, tired of death and destruction, put down their weapons and met with the enemy. On Christmas Eve in 1914, Germans, French and Brits all stood together singing carols. They had spent the past year in trenches no more than 50 feet apart. They knew one another. While the commanders all called for battle the soldiers joined together to call for peace; if only for a day or two.
Yet, on November 14, 1915, another miracle occurred. This one was first reported by four men in the French Army. They had been called out to destroy a German mortar site when they saw, or felt, a bright light from the sky. After a few moments each man dropped his weapon and they each walked across the battlefield to their station where they were immediately arrested for cowardice.
When asked what they saw, one spoke of being home in his mother's kitchen. Another smelled perfume, all were compelled to leave the area without firing a shot. Not one of them was shot at as they slowly walked back from whence they came.
The four faced court marshal and were to be executed for their crimes. Then word came in that thousands of other soldiers had the same experience. Thousands of men, on all sides, were suddenly transported to a different plane, a state of euphoria that made them drop their weapons and stop the killing. The French commander called to halt the execution of enemy soldiers as his own were exonerated.
What really happened that cold November night that made the landscape change?
Forty-four years after the incident Alcoa produced a One Step Beyond episode called The Vision. At that time they were able to obtain many documents depicting what was seen. Today, almost nothing exists. Why is this incident so difficult to research while every other WWI site speaks of the Christmas truces? More importantly, why did this vision not end the war? Because, sadly, war is profit. Where there is profit, there will always be a demand for more killing and less loving. Miracles don't make headlines, but they should.