And we’ve lost most of the vets who were still alive when Coldy started this thread.
Way up in the thread, long ago, I mentioned to Coldy that my Uncle Sandy took part in the Liberation of the Netherlands (First Canadian Army/II Canadian Corps/2nd Canadian Division/South Saskatchewan Regiment (“We’re the boys of the SSR!”))
Coldy asked me to pass on his best wishes and thanks to my uncle, which I did. Uncle Sandy seemed embarrassed that someone on the internet from across the ocean would be passing on his thanks, so many decades later.
He’s gone now. He and his wife, a Cockney war bride, (and also a vet) died within six weeks of each other about 15 years ago. My cousins buried him in his South Saskatchewan Regiment uniform.
Reminds me of our neighbours when I was a child. The Grays lived across the street, and though Mrs. Gray talked a little funny, according to us Canadian kids (she was a British war bride), they were a fine family. Their daughter Wendy babysat my sister and I a number of times when we were children. Mr. Gray always had a good word for us kids, and was friendly and happy always.
Years later, Mr. Gray died. I knew that he had been in the RCAF during WWII, but I had no idea how, or in what capacity. He was just friendly Mr. Gray, with a wife who spoke with an English accent, and who would enjoy a cold bottle of beer on his front step after mowing the lawn on a summer’s day.
I attended Mr. Gray’s funeral with my father, and I learned what Mr. Gray had done in the RCAF. His casket was covered in the Canadian flag, with his medals–among them, an RCAF DFC with bar. I asked my Dad about that. Dad replied that Mr. Gray had piloted Lancasters from England, to Germany, dropped bombs, and returned to England, before doing it all over again. Yes, his Lancaster had been under fire, and Mr. Gray suffered some injuries (he was one of the “Guinea Pigs”), but he kept flying missions until he was told to stop.
Yes, we ought to remember the fallen on this day. But could we please also remember those who lived, such as my friend Mr. Gray, who fought in WWII? Without him, and pilots like him, the liberation of Europe might never have happened.
Yep- they were all heroes in their own way even if they didn’t get medals. It was a few generations ago but I doubt if I would have had the balls to do what Mr Gray accomplished.
I don’t think I’ve ever contributed to this thread, though I’ve read it, or parts of it, every year since its inception. I owe my very existence to the allied forces, especially the Canadians, and the Red Cross. At the start of the winter of 44-45, as a direct response to the nationwide anti-nazi strike, the German occupiers blocked the heavily urbanized western part of the Netherlands from receiving food. This resulted in a severe famine, with tens of thousands of deaths, among which, many children. My father came within days of dying. Had the war lasted a week or so longer, or had bread not been dropped from airplanes, he would surely have succumbed. He owed those Canadians, I owe them, my children owe them.
That would have been Operations Manna and Chowhound operated by the RAF, Polish, Canadian and USA units. There was a cease fire agreed to by the Germans (after the first day).
Correct. Though it was the combination of that and the surrender of German forces in the Netherlands which saved tens of thousands, who would have perished if hostilities had contiued even days longer.
On a tangent, I gotta say: “Operation Manna” and “Operation Chowhound”? That is some quality naming going on there. No points for guessing which one was the American operation and which one was British. Apparently Manna was originally going to be “Operation Spam”.
It was late in the war, the result was pretty obvious, and you have to think at that point the attitude towards naming operations was along the lines of “yeah, whatever.” They’re lucky there wasn’t an airdrop called Operation Airdropsomefood.
The best codename story by far is that the beach the Canadians were planning to land on was supposed to be named Jelly Beach. You see, the Commonwealth beaches were named after fish - Gold, Sword, Jelly, as is Goldfish, Swordfish, Jellyfish. Winston Churchill himself thought “Jelly Beach” seemed a bit jovial for a place a lot of brave men were going to die and demanded it be changed. Some Canadian officer’s wife’s name was Juno, and hey, that starts with a J, so he suggested it and history was made.
Just re-read a fair portion of it. 75 years. Has Europe ever known a period in history that long with a major war involving the ‘great powers’? I tend to doubt it. May we never forget.
Been offline since lockdown, but came back for this. And I agree that this thread has been a great benison amidst all the usual petty squabbling.
Here in London we’ve been following the efforts of Captain Tom, who decided to turn a stroll around his garden into a little fundraiser and ended up raising over £32 million for NHS charities. Captain Tom served as an engineer in southeast Asia during WWII and still seems to have his head screwed on right.
VE Day beckons on Friday. We shall not take to the streets, but there will be glasses raised to those who returned and those who didn’t.
I can’t believe I never saw this thread before. Tears and goosebumps throughout.
I didn’t even realize how old it was at first; I was a little puzzled about some of it because it didn’t fit in a world that has been fighting for decades.
I have no poignant stories, because my grandfathers were too old to fight in WWII.
My husband’s Great Uncle Joe was in the navy and involved in the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot He told stories to the family, but before I was part of it. We were living on Saipan when he passed away, and Mr.CelticKnot, a trumpet player, played Taps for Joe at the American Memorial Park.
We once lived on the Navajo Reservation, and met a code talker who had been on Saipan. It was amazing to talk to him about it. He seemed a little surprised that we had gone there, because he only knew of it as a devastated, barren rock with no trees because they had all been destroyed by the war. We were able to describe how the island had recovered since he had last been there.
I think about the people who were just coming into the world when Coldfire wrote it and I wonder if they have any appreciation for the freedoms others fought so hard to secure. Especially the ones who reject the freedoms because they think it would be better for the government to provide for them and don’t know the terrible cost. This thread is one of the ways we can keep the memories alive and hopefully teach the children why they are free to vote and speak their minds.
True. 75th Anniversary! Should have been a grand and solemn thing, at the great places of commemoration of all the capitals, one last gathering of the surviving veterans. But perhaps this will serve more as an opportunity for contemplation.
And anyway, the real commemoration, the true salute to the few left and the many gone, is in raising succeeding generations who may keep remembering. Remembering not just what, but why. And to keep alive the truth once the eyewitnesses are gone, against the tide of those who will keep trying to twist it.
