Seeing
the veterans, proudly wearing their medals, some of them meeting up for the
first time in years, brought a tear to my eye as I'm sure it did to many
others.
Then
there was the lovely story about 89-year old war veteran Bernard Jordan who
went missing from his care home in Hove, only to be found safe and sound in
Normandy with his comrades. He was
determined to be there and had made his own way when he couldn't get a place on
the accredited Royal British Legion trip.
The
second world war is a distant memory for most people now. Yet we owe these people so much, for without
them our lives today would be very different.
The bravery, sacrifice, fear - it's hard for us in the modern day to
comprehend.
I
asked my Dad about his memories of the war, as he was a young boy living locally
at the time.
He
remembers the American B-17s flying over his house en-route to the airfield at
Grafton Underwood. He and his brother
would watch them flying out and then watch them returning - they could see the
bullet holes in the planes as they flew overhead on their homeward journey.
Like
a lot of people in this area, my grandfather worked in Stewart & Lloyds on
the PLUTO (pipeline under the ocean) project.
He didn't know, as everything was kept top secret, but the pipeline was to
supply fuel to the advancing British troops in Europe.
Last
week when a Dakota flew low over our house en-route to Normandy it caused much
excitement, and I also love to see the Lancaster, Hurricane and Spitfire from
the Battle of Britain Memorial flight when they fly over too.
I'm
just glad I'm able to see them in peacetime, and that their presence is a
source of joy, not fear. For that we
must thank all the brave people who fought for our freedom; we will remember
them.
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