Monday 12 November 2012

Heroes They Were and Heroes They Are

We took the girls downtown yesterday to see the Remembrance Day ceremony at the war memorial.  They were very proud to see Grampa up on the memorial as one of the WWII veterans present.  I believe it was a significant moment for them and one that I hope they remember.  John, my father-in-law, is the second veteran that I've been close with.  My own Grampa was a WWII vet as well and I have clear memories of proudly watching him in a Remembrance Day ceremony.

I've benefited greatly from my relationship with my father-in-law.  One very tangible way is in the wisdom and perspective that he readily passes down to me.  He will be the first to say that he doesn't have it all figured out but I'm not sure he gives himself enough credit.  I believe that age should speak wisdom and the young listen closely and hopefully learn.  One topic that John readily discusses is the war - which has given me a whole new perspective and even greater respect for the men and women whose efforts and lives were given to the war.

It's so important for us and especially the next generation, my kids, to remember the horror of war.  The farther we get from the last great war, the less impact it seems to have on us.  Whether it's because we have become desensitized to the terrible aspects of war due to the constant barrage of violence as entertainment or the ubiquitous coverage of contemporary conflicts (covered in such a way that often casts it as an uber-reality show), the devastation of WWII seems to be slipping into the history books.  Sometimes I forget that the consequences of that war are still being felt.

Just from a physical, literal stance - the wounds of the war are still wreaking havoc.   My father-in-law still has trouble sleeping some nights because of the bullet fragments left in his arm that he collected running across a field in Holland.  On a whole other level he questions what it was all about...he's still coming to terms, wrestling with the things he saw and did in the war.  He often talks about the boys on the other side of the war, how they were probably just like him.  Here they were, trying to kill each other...why?  Because they were ordered to.  For freedom and democracy.  To defend those who could not defend themselves.  Sure.

Sure...all of that.  But often it came down to the fact that they were boys trying to stay alive. I've heard John say time and again that it doesn't make any sense.  He ponders the notion that during the war, him and I (if I were older) could have been shooting at each other (due to my Finnish heritage).  But here we are...now...family.

The Remembrance Day ceremony is something else.  It's a great tribute - but let it not be just in remembrance of those things done and gone.  Sometimes I think that on Remembrance Day, it's easy to go through the motions...it's easy to wear a poppy and say the right things.  We remember the bygone sacrifices and are grateful for the freedoms we enjoy.  But sometimes I think we do it all on a very superficial level that does a disservice to the depth of the sacrifices made (past and present) by our men and women in the Forces...many of which have resounded through the generations and are still being and will continue to be felt.

Heroes they were, and heroes they still are - lest we forget.


2 comments:

  1. As a wounded WWII veteran it was gratfying to read Ryan's poignant comments.

    What a son-in-law!

    John Preece

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