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WWII Iwo Jima
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<blockquote data-quote="Marguerite" data-source="post: 252251" data-attributes="member: 1991"><p>The best memorial you can give these guys, is to get as much information from them, on their stories. THis isn't easy, when so often they have difficulty talking about it. But if you ever do get the mtalking, or get talking to someone who heard their stories, take good notes. Write it all down.</p><p></p><p>For those who are anti-war, telling these stories is the best way to prevent further wars.</p><p></p><p>My father in law served in the Australian army in WWII. So did my dad, but because my dad was older and at times was on compassionate leave because of various babies my mother had, my dad was rear echelon. But father in law - he was a kid, served in some rough places (before the US got involved) and was captured on Crete. He spent a year on the loose (escaped three times) and finished the war in Germany and Silesia in POW camps. We got some of his story, then after he died we found a diary he had kept in the final months of the war. The diary documents the final months of the internment and how, as the US army was getting near, the German guards marched the POWs away from the front. Then one morning they woke up and the guards were gone. They were in an abandoned farmhouse so they foraged and found a hidden nest and dug up some potatoes. They had the best feed they'd had in years! Then he stole a motobike and rode it back the way they'd come, heading for the US troops. That is where the diary ends.</p><p></p><p>I remember growing up and the celebration of Anzac Day - as a kid, I never got the point of it. It seemed to be glorifying war far too much, anybody who said, "I don't like war" would get jumped on. Instant detention at school. But these days, I feel it's much more rational. Of course war is terrible, at last they admit it. But this isn't glorifying war, it's making sure that we remember the effort of those who have given up so much, to keep the rest of us safe. And it's also recognising their sacrifice as well as making sure that we do our utmost now and in the future, to prevent war.</p><p></p><p>At last we can look at the Gallipoli campaign, for example, and say, "We should never have been sent there, it was a huge tactical disaster," and not get pilloried for it. At last the truth can be told and people don't see it as devaluing the effort. Our soldiers fought in Gallipoli despite knowing it was a huge tactical mistake. They stuck it out, did much better than anyone thought would be possible, and then when they had to pull out, they did it in a way that should be celebrated as the epitome of human ingenuity. The enemy we fought then, the Turks, lost many more than we did, but are now allies. We now celebrate Anzac Day with the Turks - we ALL remember together, so that it need never happen again.</p><p></p><p>We do tend to celebrate military disasters, don't we? I think because that is when we seee the strength in human spirit, we see ordinary people doing extraordinary, selfless things in the face of impossible odds. That is when we realise just what we are all capable of, if we can rise above the disaster. And to celebrate those efforts and the strength of human spirit - we need to do this.</p><p></p><p>So please, do your utmost to record what you can of the memories of the war generations. Telling their story can also help heal them. And it's never too late for that.</p><p></p><p>Marg</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Marguerite, post: 252251, member: 1991"] The best memorial you can give these guys, is to get as much information from them, on their stories. THis isn't easy, when so often they have difficulty talking about it. But if you ever do get the mtalking, or get talking to someone who heard their stories, take good notes. Write it all down. For those who are anti-war, telling these stories is the best way to prevent further wars. My father in law served in the Australian army in WWII. So did my dad, but because my dad was older and at times was on compassionate leave because of various babies my mother had, my dad was rear echelon. But father in law - he was a kid, served in some rough places (before the US got involved) and was captured on Crete. He spent a year on the loose (escaped three times) and finished the war in Germany and Silesia in POW camps. We got some of his story, then after he died we found a diary he had kept in the final months of the war. The diary documents the final months of the internment and how, as the US army was getting near, the German guards marched the POWs away from the front. Then one morning they woke up and the guards were gone. They were in an abandoned farmhouse so they foraged and found a hidden nest and dug up some potatoes. They had the best feed they'd had in years! Then he stole a motobike and rode it back the way they'd come, heading for the US troops. That is where the diary ends. I remember growing up and the celebration of Anzac Day - as a kid, I never got the point of it. It seemed to be glorifying war far too much, anybody who said, "I don't like war" would get jumped on. Instant detention at school. But these days, I feel it's much more rational. Of course war is terrible, at last they admit it. But this isn't glorifying war, it's making sure that we remember the effort of those who have given up so much, to keep the rest of us safe. And it's also recognising their sacrifice as well as making sure that we do our utmost now and in the future, to prevent war. At last we can look at the Gallipoli campaign, for example, and say, "We should never have been sent there, it was a huge tactical disaster," and not get pilloried for it. At last the truth can be told and people don't see it as devaluing the effort. Our soldiers fought in Gallipoli despite knowing it was a huge tactical mistake. They stuck it out, did much better than anyone thought would be possible, and then when they had to pull out, they did it in a way that should be celebrated as the epitome of human ingenuity. The enemy we fought then, the Turks, lost many more than we did, but are now allies. We now celebrate Anzac Day with the Turks - we ALL remember together, so that it need never happen again. We do tend to celebrate military disasters, don't we? I think because that is when we seee the strength in human spirit, we see ordinary people doing extraordinary, selfless things in the face of impossible odds. That is when we realise just what we are all capable of, if we can rise above the disaster. And to celebrate those efforts and the strength of human spirit - we need to do this. So please, do your utmost to record what you can of the memories of the war generations. Telling their story can also help heal them. And it's never too late for that. Marg [/QUOTE]
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