On this somber holiday, my family reflects with gratitude on luck. The luck allowed my paternal grandfather and his two brothers to survive the First World War as decorated heroes.
My father and his two brothers survived the Second World War. Brian, my father was at D-Day (with the Royal Navy). Uncle Mike was taken prisoner by the Germans after he was wounded as the first RAF paratrooper to land at Arnhem, “A Bridge Too Far”. Emaciated, but undaunted, he returned home at the end of the war.
My mother’s five brothers served and survived during the Korean War.
Harry is a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War.
None of our beloved boys were lost, never to become men. Our hearts break for the many who were not so lucky.
My grandfather, James Harding Barry, was a Royal Army medical officer during the First World War, the “war to end all wars”. He wrote in his grim memoir, “I saw more blood and thunder than most men. I felt it was indecent to survive.”
We are grateful that they survived. We would not be here otherwise. Today, and everyday, we honor those who did not come home.
Be well, be grateful. Commemorate. Slava Ukraini! Peace, please.
War solves nothing.
Amen to that, Janis.
That is quite amazing. All those wars, all those men part of a family, to all survive! Many of those who lived through WW1 must have felt as he did, I think. I wish Memorial Day had not become what it is, the long weekend that marks the beginning of summer. It should be a single sombre day.
I agree.
Thank you for your family’s service
Such a great tribute for Memorial Day. Thank you for sharing your family history with us.
My, what a family history of service. Gratitude and luck, yes. This sculpture that Harry is finishing, remarkable in its detail and realism. must have a very special meaning to him.