Memories on November 11, Veterans’ Day
November 11th, has been a day of Remembrance for many years. I would like to share a few memories I have of some of the military personnel I have met in my life.
I think the earliest memory is of the young RAF men who were billeted at my home in East Anglia, UK during WW2, when I was about 3 years old. They were stationed at the nearby Airfield and as we had 2 spare bedrooms in our home, we had a number of Airmen stay with us. The men would eat and work at the base but at night a bus would stop by and the men would sleep at our house, then in the morning they were picked up again. I often wondered what happened to them. Only one came back many years later, his name was Douglas. My mother was so excited to see him and he had apparently emigrated after the war to Australia and was home visiting family and friends.
I also remember when I was 4 a trip to visit my Aunt and Uncle in Brighton. We went by train and they were filled in those days by a lot of military people. On the train from London to Brighton we shared a carriage with some young soldiers from America. I remember they had a bag of black cherries which they shared with me. Oh my poor little pink dress was ruined by the juice but they were such friendly young men, off to war. I do hope they made it home safely but I will never know.
Over the years I met many more young men and women who served in the Armed Forces. My father in law was a US Navy officer, who served 33 months in a Japanese POW camp in the Philippines. What a terrible experience. He seldom spoke of it until his later years. It was just too difficult. He lost many friends in that camp and barely survived himself. He died 5 years ago but he never forgot.
Today I read in the paper that 2 more men from the Stryker Brigade from Fort Lewis, our neighbor here in Washington State, the Brigade has lost 28 men since they were deployed to Afghanistan 4 months ago. I wonder how many more? Last week it was the shock of 8 people killed at Ft. Hood in Texas. So much life wasted, so many families in mourning.
So on November the Eleventh please take a little time out to remember those who have given their lives and time to make this a free country.
Tags: Nov 11
