It may be you have had enough of D-Day for a bit, I certainly found the Cathedral service too much to put up with, organ music is not my thing sorry. I went out to see if the local lads had done anything to commemorate the event but nothing was to be seen here. Possibly round at the war memorial there was something. Most Legion men here are Korean and after not WW2 however.
As always there is much slop talked about these men. Too much of the 'Our Boys,' 'Heroes,' and 'Brave men all,' came to me who had little comprehension of what these men really felt. Growing up amongst men who served, and as kids hearing only 'Boys Own' stories rather than the bad bits until we were older, we still got a glimpse of the 'stiff upper lip,' and the 'You have just got to get up and do it' attitude that so many had. Few would want to do it again, few called themselves 'heroes,' most just thought it was a job that had to be done. Hitler was bad, the nation was threatened, fight was the only way out. None of that would sell a movie or a newspaper today.
My father was not at D-Day, his artillery battalion was so far behind the lines they were in danger of coming upon the Japanese rear! It has not been possible to find where they were but I know he crossed the Rhine. He told our insurance man, remember when they collected weekly, "We sat for two days while the armour went over, then we crossed!" His unit had a lot of ex-soldiers like himself in it, they knew the ways.
His attitude was like many men, go if you have to, seek peace not war. He, like most in the craft crossing the rough sea, would not like to be near the 'death or glory' man, taking sensible care was the order of the day. This left him shouting abuse at many an American movie during the late 50's.
At least British actors had been in the war.
It is interesting listening to the ex-servicemen. No glory hunters, though one did try to chat up the Trump woman, all spoke sensibly about war and what they did, downplaying their part often and avoiding glory. One clearly still upset about the killing he participated in, 'fire first or die' attitude shared by most. Like those from the Great War these men tend not to be free with their many experiences, most of what they saw remains in their heads.
Some, like Spike Milligan, told their stories, a good way to get it out of the system is to write down, longhand, the tale and sort things out in the head. Many did this but like Spike they either 'jazzed it up' as he did or avoided the 'too tough' bits altogether. Some things must die with us.
I was conscious of the welcome the old men w ere being given while as dad pointed out in 1946 he was given a suit, a hat, a few pounds, told "Thanks" now get on with your life. There was no help for him or the several million others who may have had problems. If dad had them it never showed but many never forgot their experiences, especially in the front line. Being a bit further back allows you to enjoy war a bit more, many did of course, and the chances of survival are greater if not guaranteed.
Lots of talk has been about the emotions of the men on the boats. With many small craft sea sickness spoiled the emotions somewhat as suffering leaves you with other things to concentrate on. There must be apprehension, especially for those with no experience, dear must control you but once the doors open the NCO's take over and training kicks in. The confusion on some beaches compares with a swift landing on others, each would have the adrenalin running for different reasons. I would fear more if there was no opposition while wondering what they were up to. At least under fire you know you need to just hide! Men were killed, 4,450 or so that day and a great deal more wounded however out of 150,000 this was a good result. The death toll would rise as they headed inland and opposition grew. Winston Churchill was mighty relieved at the days result as it meant the war was heading for an end and the danger of losing maybe 90,000 dead lay heavy on him as Gallipoli was always on his mind. This day was the last great British military moment, from this day on the Empire was dead. Two other powers had come to the fore and only the 'Daily Mail' and 'Express' reader miss what has been lost.
4 comments:
My father was decidedly glad that he avoided any amphibious landings...and regarded one of his greatest pieces of luck as having been maimed by the dentist before his unit was shipped out to Singapore...most of his friends went in the bag there,and not too many returned.
He did not talk much about his time either in the Army generally or in the Spanish civil war before, except for the jokes or the funnies...though friends of his told us a few hair raising tales to which his inevitable reply was 'If you can't take a joke you shouldn't have joined...'
Fly, Well done that dentist!
I believe from my memories of talking to those who served in the war that on the whole you just did not take any notice of your emotions and spent a lot of energy trying to suppress them. Very wise in the circumstances, it always seemed to me. The main thing was probably to survive.
Jenny, Indeed, you had no choice but to go on. It has an effect on them much later.
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