V.E day.

Remember my last past life,

As a young man I was on a battlefield on WW2. A lost bullet hit me in the stomach and I fell dead into the ditch.

What as waste...

Originally Posted by Legrand

Remember my last past life,

As a young man I was on a battlefield on WW2. A lost bullet hit me in the stomach and I fell dead into the ditch.

What as waste...

Awwww Legrand . That is really sad. For your family, your loved ones. So not only do we remember and salute those hero's.... You remember too, and you were one our hero's. How amazing is that !

Originally Posted by Legrand

Remember my last past life,

As a young man I was on a battlefield on WW2. A lost bullet hit me in the stomach and I fell dead into the ditch.

What as waste...

Do you feel that this experience may give you a better understanding of what a waste war is then if you had not gone through it?

Originally Posted by ketzer

So you feel that this experience may give you a better understanding of what a waste war is then if you had not gone through it?

Hi Ketzer. War determines the biggest waste of human life incomprehensible to the human mind.

Originally Posted by Elfin

Hi Ketzer. War determines the biggest waste of human life incomprehensible to the human mind.

Yes, I completely understand and share that sentiment. Yet, there is a part of me that has slowly formed over the years that feels that no human life has ever been wasted, nor could it ever be. Not something that would or should ever drive my actions, but one that occasionally drives my feelings. I like having it because it seems to allow me, when I stand back and look at things from a distance, to see the beauty in what is otherwise just so much ugliness. It is not a kind of beauty that anyone could ever seek to create, as trying to do so would only result in ugliness alone. It seems to be an emergent beauty that is just there, waiting to be noticed. Perhaps it is wrong to feel that way, but I can't seem to feel wrong about it.

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Originally Posted by ketzer

Yes, I completely understand and share that sentiment. Yet, there is a part of me that has slowly formed over the years that feels that no human life has ever been wasted, nor could it ever be. Not something that would or should ever drive my actions, but one that occasionally drives my feelings. I like having it because it seems to allow me, when I stand back and look at things from a distance, to see the beauty in what is otherwise just so much ugliness. It is not a kind of beauty that anyone could ever seek to create, as trying to do so would only result in ugliness alone. It seems to be an emergent beauty that is just there, waiting to be noticed. Perhaps it is wrong to feel that way, but I can't seem to feel wrong about it.

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Hi .. and yes you are are right in as much no waste to life . I do agree with that as I believe 100 percent that life goes on. We never die . The soul of oneself is infinite. Death is not an equation. On the other hand , however, at this moment in time we live a life as a human experience. We are given all of the human emotion. Fear, love, joy, hatred, greed, jealousy , and heartache. And we re act accordingly. I already know that when I depart this earth, and am born again I will have no recollection of my prescious children that I love more than life itself in this lifetime. That upsets me . But I also know I may have had many children during my lifetimes that I cannot recall . And it will be the same with the great wars. In my next life I will not ever recall this conversation with you.

[one-light]

There were many in local streets here with bunting and small tables out front of their houses, showing 'respect' for people all those years ago, and all the terrible days/years they went through in such difficult times.

They 'should' be remembered... social distancing is important though, and people should remember this, or that thing virus will get more of a hold again. People must stay alert - and from what I witnessed when walking my dog they were behaving, smiling as they did in those terrible days, and being very respectful, remembering just what happened all those years ago.

And just to make clear on here, I do not wish to keep alive the memory of any war. Any war. They are all abhorrant . But I cannot ever ignore the sacrifice and human suffering that is coupled with these wars . And that is what makes me human. I cannot and will not ever forget those sacrifices. Sorry if I offend anyone but this was my thread . There is so much suffering too in all areas / walks of life that I also find very hard hard to deal with. Let's talk about rape... Torture... Murder too. I have experienced all of these too during my life . But please.. allow me this one moment to remember my Grandma.

Originally Posted by Busby

Personally I object to those celebrations which underline the 'glory' of wars.
There just has to be another way to focus on the remembering of those days of death and devastation without walking around with medals clinging on breasts and gun salutes. We should rid ourselves of the word 'hero', it sends the wrong picture.
In 1945 I was seven years old. I lived with my family on Tyneside, in the North East of England in Newcastle. In fact we lived on the riverside just above the then railway line connecting the city of Newcastle to the shipbuilding yards where frigates and destroyers were built. Over the war period we were constantly bombed not only by German planes but also by rockets. The aim was to put the shipbuilding yards out of business and to destroy the railway feeding the yards with supplies. Our shelter was the living room table - every time the sirens went off we'd all crawl under the table and huddle together until clear.
I was one of the lucky little lads who came through alive, a number of my little friends didn't. I saw plenty of blood and fire and we had some lucky escapes too. When I see on TV the pictures of children in Syria for instance I see myself as a child accepting the surrounding destruction as 'normal' as there was nothing to compare the situation with.

My thought today when I see these pictures is 'How can grown men do this? The thought that there are women also prepared to kill other women's children is one which hurts me terribly.

But the horror I have not forgotten and those people, the politicians, the military forces, the stealers of human rights and respect, need to be reminded that the world isn't here to destruct but to construct.

It's never spoken of, and has been forgotten, something quite devastating really. In 1945 we moved down to London, my father was a Londoner and wanted to go back. Now just think of all those thousands of men who returned to British shores injured and maimed, to join parents and families and who, in some form or another had to find and keep a job simply to be able to eat and feed their people. There were terrible injuries to be seen on the streets, you can imagine what flame throwers, bombs, fire, bullets, mines and all the rest do to people's faces, heads, arms, legs, skin etc., and these poor souls were forced to expose their injuries in order to earn a wage. Some of them were young lads, with no idea about life and no chance of a future. These people get forgotten. But I've never forgotten those sights.

Mis-reporting, attention seekers, Hollywood, 'leaders' of all kinds, and all of these ilk should be under better public control and all governmental and political decisions should be made absolutely transparent.

We should not forget that we have to thank Russia for the main victory in WW2 - 27,000,000 people gave their lives. Atheists if you like.

My mother,born in England 1933,lived through very much the same.

She did recount about the bombings,living in shelters etc,but didn't recount on it much nor gave one ounce of attention to anzac day and the alike.

And i agree with this too ie:

"Mis-reporting, attention seekers, Hollywood, 'leaders' of all kinds, and all of these ilk should be under better public control and all governmental and political decisions should be made absolutely transparent."

Originally Posted by ant

My mother,born in England 1933,lived through very much the same.

She did recount about the bombings,living in shelters etc,but didn't recount on it much nor gave one ounce of attention to anzac day and the alike.

And i agree with this too ie:

"Mis-reporting, attention seekers, Hollywood, 'leaders' of all kinds, and all of these ilk should be under better public control and all governmental and political decisions should be made absolutely transparent."

Agreed.... But we are talking about the human nature of love towards loved ones.