Today is Remembrance Day
Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2007 6:51 pm
Or Veteran's Day, for our American friends. On this day 89 years ago, at 11 AM, the guns of the First World War fell silent and Europe began to rebuild. This thread is meant as a tribute of sorts to anyone, living or dead, who fought for our freedom and the freedom of our children. I extend this to any war or peacetime operation. I'm posting this in the Meeting Point so that everyone can contribute, not just Warriors.
Both sides of my family were involved in World War Two in some way. On my mother's side of the family, my grandfather was a pilot in the RAF. He flew over France as a fighter pilot, and he was tasked with protecting the bombers that were hitting targets. He had a few near misses, but he came out of it okay. He later flew over the Low Countries during their liberation, and ended up based out of Rotterdam. That's where he met my grandmother.
The grandmother I speak of is not really my grandmother. She was my grandpa's first wife, and she ended up adopting my mom and raising her as her own. She was a member of the Dutch resistance, acting as a runner for the black market. She too had many close calls, and once had to sweet-talk a German soldier who caught her lurking in the bushes. She also kept a photo record of the first few months of the occupation of Holland, though I have no idea where it is. The last time I saw it I was maybe six years old. The one picture that I remember was taken from the second floor of a building. It was of a group of German tanks rolling down the middle of Rotterdam's main drag, just after they entered the city for the first time.
Anyway, they got married, then divorced, and my grandpa married my mother's real mom. I don't know much about that family because my mom hates their guts. I won't turn this into an E/N thread though. Regardless, she did have one uncle who was in the Canadian Navy. I do not know what ship he was on, but I do know that it got hit by a torpedo at some point. I know this because he died of it. Apparently he was supposed to be on deck when the torpedo hit. Instead, he switched watches with his friend and went to sleep in his bunk. The torpedo blasted right through the room he was in, killing him. I'll ask my mom what ship he was on next time I see her, because I honestly don't remember.
Unfortunately, most of my mom's side of the family is dead. Her dad died before I was born of cancer, so I never got to talk to him. It's too bad.
On my dad's side of the family, the entire family lived in Italy during the war and subsequent German occupation. They both lived in Rome, and some pretty crazy stuff happened there in the war. There is, however, one story they like to share because it shows that not all the German soldiers were mindless killing machines like what they're portrayed to be.
It was sometime during the occupation, and my grandma was making dinner. There was a pounding at the door, and her mother went to open it. There were three German soldiers there, and they muscled their way in. For some reason, the soldiers wanted to take their kitchen table. I have no idea why they were interested in a kitchen table, but they were. My great-grandma tried to argue, but they drew on her and she wisely decided not to get killed. Their next door neighbour was just a few years old at that point, and he came out of the room to see the soldiers, as they had been watching him while his mother was out. He walked up to the one in front and stared up at him. He then asked, "Are you my daddy?" His father was in the Italian Army, and he was in a prison camp at that point. The soldier stared down at the boy, then looked back at my grandma. He asked, "Is this your son?" She played along, saying that it was. The man nodded, then told the other two soldiers to wait outside. Once they left, he told my grandma that he had a son at home in Germany, and he wasn't about to deprive them of a kitchen table. A few minutes later, they looked out their window to see them walking away with someone else's table. And that's how the neighbour kid saved my grandma's kitchen table, and how my grandma found out that not all Nazis were evil.
Anyway, I don't know about my family's participation in any other wars, so I'll stop there. Now it's your turn, guys. Let's remember our veterans/other survivors of war in the best way possible: by sharing their stories with the world, or at least this forum.
Both sides of my family were involved in World War Two in some way. On my mother's side of the family, my grandfather was a pilot in the RAF. He flew over France as a fighter pilot, and he was tasked with protecting the bombers that were hitting targets. He had a few near misses, but he came out of it okay. He later flew over the Low Countries during their liberation, and ended up based out of Rotterdam. That's where he met my grandmother.
The grandmother I speak of is not really my grandmother. She was my grandpa's first wife, and she ended up adopting my mom and raising her as her own. She was a member of the Dutch resistance, acting as a runner for the black market. She too had many close calls, and once had to sweet-talk a German soldier who caught her lurking in the bushes. She also kept a photo record of the first few months of the occupation of Holland, though I have no idea where it is. The last time I saw it I was maybe six years old. The one picture that I remember was taken from the second floor of a building. It was of a group of German tanks rolling down the middle of Rotterdam's main drag, just after they entered the city for the first time.
Anyway, they got married, then divorced, and my grandpa married my mother's real mom. I don't know much about that family because my mom hates their guts. I won't turn this into an E/N thread though. Regardless, she did have one uncle who was in the Canadian Navy. I do not know what ship he was on, but I do know that it got hit by a torpedo at some point. I know this because he died of it. Apparently he was supposed to be on deck when the torpedo hit. Instead, he switched watches with his friend and went to sleep in his bunk. The torpedo blasted right through the room he was in, killing him. I'll ask my mom what ship he was on next time I see her, because I honestly don't remember.
Unfortunately, most of my mom's side of the family is dead. Her dad died before I was born of cancer, so I never got to talk to him. It's too bad.
On my dad's side of the family, the entire family lived in Italy during the war and subsequent German occupation. They both lived in Rome, and some pretty crazy stuff happened there in the war. There is, however, one story they like to share because it shows that not all the German soldiers were mindless killing machines like what they're portrayed to be.
It was sometime during the occupation, and my grandma was making dinner. There was a pounding at the door, and her mother went to open it. There were three German soldiers there, and they muscled their way in. For some reason, the soldiers wanted to take their kitchen table. I have no idea why they were interested in a kitchen table, but they were. My great-grandma tried to argue, but they drew on her and she wisely decided not to get killed. Their next door neighbour was just a few years old at that point, and he came out of the room to see the soldiers, as they had been watching him while his mother was out. He walked up to the one in front and stared up at him. He then asked, "Are you my daddy?" His father was in the Italian Army, and he was in a prison camp at that point. The soldier stared down at the boy, then looked back at my grandma. He asked, "Is this your son?" She played along, saying that it was. The man nodded, then told the other two soldiers to wait outside. Once they left, he told my grandma that he had a son at home in Germany, and he wasn't about to deprive them of a kitchen table. A few minutes later, they looked out their window to see them walking away with someone else's table. And that's how the neighbour kid saved my grandma's kitchen table, and how my grandma found out that not all Nazis were evil.
Anyway, I don't know about my family's participation in any other wars, so I'll stop there. Now it's your turn, guys. Let's remember our veterans/other survivors of war in the best way possible: by sharing their stories with the world, or at least this forum.