This is sad day. A freind of mine passed away this morning. He was a WW2 veteran. There won't be many of them left soon. But he was such a nice person. He never swore or got angry. He'll be sadly missed. RIP. I don't know how to make this a link, but on You Tube there is clip called "A Day To Remember". It shows veterans marching in Whitehall and has Hymn To The Fallen as the music, from Saving Private Ryan by John Williams. Please take a look at it. It's very moving.
I'm in my 40's and only very recently really understood what the sacrifices made in WW2 were all about ( Both my parents lived thro it ). I know "Saving Private Ryan" very well and in a way it clicked a switch .
Whwn i was younger i railed against Remembrance Day thinking it was a justification of war. I now see that it is an acknowlegement of what people gave up in that War ( altho not exclusively for WW2 ). It also helped me to come to terms with my Dad passing away as i became immensely proud that he had played his part ( RAF )
The WW2 generation were indeed something extraordinary and many pitifully neglected in their late years.
My grandad was a WW2 veteran he died 14 years ago at the age of 76. He sounds just like your friend as he did not sware or get angry in any way. He was the kindest gentlest man you could ever wish to meet. I think going through something such as WW2 may have made most soldiers take a look at life in such a completely different way and learn to completely respect and appreciate everything!!! 'May we always remember them'!!
Cheer up !! I was active in WWII and there are still a few of us around to save the country again when the call comes.. I can still park my Cromwell tank on the top of Everest, so sleep soundly.
Aye, well, it was a long time ago and the world was a different place then. For amusement I contributed a little to another thread concerning WWII. Then someone referred to concentration camps. You can glean a little of how I feel about it by thinking about my last post here.