Thermo said:
What ever you think of the rights and wrongs and who should have dropped what and when, i think its important we all take a moment to remember today all those that were hurt injured, maimed or died, fighting in appalling conditions a very long way from home, to bring the victory of VJ day, a day too often overlooked.
So lets try just for once to remember it and say thankyou for the effort you made on behalf of us all, and if you dont agree or cant say anything decent, then dont
THANK YOU
Thermo how right you are to remember those who have given so much
for our freedoms.
My father was a prisoner of war taken on the beach head at Norway.
He was a prisoner for 5 years eventually ending up adjacent to the
Death Camps in Poland.
He could speak 4 languages fluently and one day when I was very young
he met a Polish Jew in Blackpool. Both started crying and holding each other. My father told me at that time never to forget the horror that war can bring.
He had a very torturous life with many experimential treatments in
electric shock therapy. On his death a Army Officer visited our home.
He told me that my father had survived the unthinkable. He went into
my fathers history most of which I had never heard and the fact that due to his language skills he was used
by the S.S. He stated that his record showed that he had escaped from
a prison camp in Poland and that on recapture he had been struck on
the head with the the butt of a luger pistol which badly smashed his skull.
He was left for dead and ordinary german prison guards took him
to their hospital where a German Surgeon saved his life and put
a large metal plate in his skull.
My father explained to me that the ordinary germans were fair but that
they were controlled by the S.S. who used fear tactics. He did mention that getting near to the end of the war they were shouting their own kind
to install discipline.
My father during his short life never mentioned the fact that he had a metal plate in his skull. The officer explained that a lot of servicemen kept their nightmares to themselves.The officer told me as senior son that the army would pay all the expenses of any funeral arrangements I made for my father. They also provided for
my mother with the best of financial assistance during her lifetime. I was
really proud of my country and the fact thay they cared for their own.
I also had a uncle who was taken prisoner by the Japanese at Singapore.
He died at the age of 49 years but I recall speaking to him. His hatred
of the Japanese people was unquestionable. He told us that he was treated
worse than an animal and that he saw hundreds of his comrades both from America and the U.K. die as a result of inhuman treatment.
I always remember him saying when I was a child that there was nothing
wrong with drinking urine as it saved his life once.
Tomorrow I will remember my father, uncle and all those who have
given so much to allow us to continue to live in a free society.
Cheers.
