The National September 11th Memorial and Museum in New York
Lay aside your views on The Hows, The Whys, The Blame, The Cause, The Effect and above all the social media clutter.
Remember 2,977 died. 25,000 were injured. Then there were the losses of pregnancies, the subsequent deaths and severe anguish of relatives and friends, the abuse heaped on the innocent. The resonances remain raw.
People were and still are suffering.
One stark reminder for us all, one bitter symbol of an avoidable world-wide blight.
Some mildly profane words; borrowed from those who were ‘there’.
They may have volunteered out of patriotism, or for the ‘adventure’. They may have been told by the Government they were ‘required’. They may started out as ‘ordinary’ folk; they may have been ‘screw-ups’; they may have been downright annoying; they may have been ‘nasty pieces of work’; they may have been tough; they may have spent their time being scared or ‘bitching’.
They may have been killed, died of injuries, disease, accident or ‘dumb luck’. They may have survived and lived or are living out the war in a loop.
Malmedy December 1944
Normandy 1944
‘Somewhere and Somewhen in Korea’
In Vietnam
‘Boy, you sure get offered some shitty choices,’ a Marine once said to me, and I couldn’t help but feel that what he really meant was that you didn’t get offered any at all. Specifically, he was just talking about a couple of C-ration cans, ‘dinner,’ but considering his young life…….. …….you couldn’t blame him for thinking that if he knew one thing for sure, it was that there was no one anywhere who cared less about what he wanted.…Extract from Michael Herr’s ‘Dispatches’
And still it goes on
And for some it never stops
No one composes laments quite like the Scots; this songs was written for the 51st (Highland Division) as they left Sicily in 1943- there are several versions song in broad dialects and are difficult to follow without study- this version by the Clancy Brothers was angelized for general consumption. The message is universal for all soldiers leaving a warzone. One mild profanity from the original song and not here here but worth a mention:
‘Poor biddy (bloody) bastards are weary’
Some might feel uncomfortable about what may be seen as a celebration of war. This is no celebration; this is a remembrance for those who witnessed, heard, smelt and felt the weakness of flesh when fed on by metal, flame and explosion.
Maybe if all the national cemeteries were like this, there might be less …’next wars’
This young man dived in the Thames in an effort to rescue a distressed woman. She and another rescuer were thankfully saved. This young hero paid with his life.
He is now amongst those who laid down their lives so that others may live. No greater love.
Take some time today and then from time to time in the rest of your life to remember these folk who by their acts enriched the world by reinforcing our belief and hope.
While historians both professional or pundit will step forth and say this one or that one was or wasn’t necessary, there always seems to be another one. Among the volumes written either way there is one topic they all agree on.
People die in them.
(WWI)
(WWII)
(Korea)
(Afghanistan)
(Iraq)
And for those who are wont to bang a drum and spout Hate and Intolerance….
Are you ready to step up, take your place and suffer this in your ‘glorious’ cause?
Malmedy December 1944
Normandy 1944
…….you couldn’t blame him for thinking that if he knew one thing for sure, it was that there was no one anywhere who cared less about what he wanted.
Writing Despite Computers and Programmes 