Howdy dear availees, and welcome to a super quick post solely devoted to the memory of my grandfathers, whom I have written about previous on occasions like ANZAC Day...there's so much I'd like to relate about the sacrifice made by so many and the suffering of millions, including many civilians, etc, and how all of that is disrespected and diminished by the modern Body Politique, particularly the Morrison Liberal/National Party and the Trump Republicans, and how they/we treat the elderly and veterans, etc, but that's enough of that for today...
My Kiwi (Aotearoa - New Zealander) grandfather served as a Hurricane/Spitfire fighter pilot in the RAF (Royal Air Force) in the Battle of France and the early days of the Battle of Britain, before being withdrawn as a test pilot, and then served with the USAAF (United States of America Air Force) in New Guinea and the Pacific...he survived the war, reaching the rank of Group Captain, and was awarded multiple medals, including the DSO (Distinguished Service Order, after recommendation by the USofA), and an OBE (Order of the British Empire)...
My other grandfather, a Scottish teenage immigrant, served in the Australian Army (Second Australian Imperial Force?), first in Tobruk (North Africa) part of the famous Rats of Tobruk, and then went through several Mediterranean 'conflicts', before serving in New Guinea...he survived the war at the same rank he started it, Private, 'cos he used to keep getting promoted to Corporal but then busted for insubordination, once for being AWOL (Absent With Out Leave), etc, he was a bit of a larrikin ya' might say...
The two men couldn't really be any more different, but they shared one thing, they both rarely talked about their extensive experiences at war, and rather, saw it all as 'a waste of good men'...they both fought against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, but had great compassion for their counterparts in these opposing forces...
I never really understood when I was young, not properly, they were just my grandpas...but now I do, they were/are legends and so today like every day I try to honour their extraordinary 'achievements' by doing what I can to improve the society they fought to defend...whatever the politics of the time, eg, who exactly had the 'Moral High Ground' when it comes to creating 'Empire' by force? did the fall-out of WW1 effectively guarantee WW2? what exactly was 'Democracy' anyway? etc, etc, etc, and whatever you think of what we currently 'endure' by way of increasingly Right Wing Politics, etc, this is what they had to do, and I thank them for it...
And so to go thanks for all those who were killed during the war, or died of wounds soon after, etc, and I think of their grandkids who never knew Pops, etc...and I extend this to our WW1 people, and to more recent conflicts like Korea, Vietnam (the USof A War in Vietnam), and Iraq and Afghanistan, etc...
Today is about remembrance and thanks, and so that is where I'll leave it...thanks Papa, thanks Pops...
Tomorrow: The Debilitating Disgrace Of Courts Protecting Paedophiles In South Australia
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and thanks...
PS: due to unforeseen issues, this was actually posted 16th August 2020...
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