Remembrance Day--Lest We Forget

[pgrabia]

May we all remember those who went to war and fought valiantly for their country, those who died and those still living.  May we encourage those who still serve in their quest for freedom, to protect the rest of us.  Thank you, Grandpa.  RIP.  I hope that someday war will be a word forgotten and never brought to mind again, and in its place peace

Comments

[damigella_314]

May all that serve in the military keep an open mind and an open heart, and consider at all times whether the side they fight for is the right side, and the way they are fighting is a moral way. Because among those who died, fighting valiantly for their country, there's also my children's great-grandfather, an officer in the Waffen SS.

"As a woman, I have no country. As a woman, I want no country. As a woman, my country is the whole world." (V. Woolf, Three Guineas).

And may your final wish become the truth during our children's lifetimes, if not our own.

[pgrabia]

I agree with you. Whether or not one agrees with the goals and aims of the government in power, one has to acknowledge that the soldiers on both sides were fighting to defend thier home and their people, including their families and friends. And I do hope that today's soldiers to think about what they are being ordered to do and defend and protect the innocent whatever their orders may be. Whether or not you are fighting a dictatorial regime, it is never acceptable to bomb schools and hospitals and to destroy civilians.

I have an interesting story. My Gido (grandpa in Ukrainian, my dad's father) fought for the Austria-Hungarian empire in the 1st world war. My maternal grandfather fought for the British in the same war. Both of them were involved in the infamous Battle of Ypris. I don't know if they were shooting at each other, but it's possible. Thank goodness neither of them was killed or else I wouldn't be here! I wonder if that's why I've had to face so much conflict throughout my life?

[damigella_314]

what a fascinating story! I hope the conflict in your life will end, and leave behind only peace and happiness.
PS There are no soldiers in my family in living memory. So it's all very theoretical for me. But there's a big discussion going on in Italy about how to acknowledge the courage of those who sincerely fought on the fascist side, without disrespecting those that chose exile or prison, sometimes death, to fight an immoral regime.