It´s liberation day Thursday MKF 05/05/05

[urnofosiris]

Well this date was too pretty to not have a daily thread and I actually have a topic. May the 5th is Liberation Day in the Netherlands. It is the 60th one. We celebrate the fact that 60 years ago this country was liberated and WW II officially ended for us. I am glad that we are getting to hear more of the stories of the German heroes and victims from that time nowadays, there were plenty of them as well, but during my schooltime, those stories were not part of the history lessons.

Anyway, it is a special day and I feel lucky that I get to live in a place that has not seen a war is so long. All that I know of war is what I see on the news and the stories my father and mother have told me. My mother was born in 1939, but I can remember trying to climb out of my bed when I was two because I was scared of thunder, I am not surprised that she can remember being bombed at age 5.

So I am lucky and unfortunately a lot of places in the world a lot of people are not so lucky. I can only hope that one day every country in the world can celebrate the absence of war.
Now as for a sort of daily question: I am curious whether any of you have a relative or know someone who fought in the second world war and whether you have stories to share.

[justin]

My Grandfather served during WWII. He fought in Italy and fought in the infamous battle at Monte Casino. One point of pride for him was that he served in the same regiment as Spike Milligan. Though they never met since he was in the infantary, whilst Spike Milligan was in the artillery.

My grandfather didn't do much fighting since he was captured about a year after arriving in Italy and he spent the rest of the war in a German POW camp. One of his stories which I remember is of him and a group of others escaping from their captors whilst out for exercise and after being picked up by their allies being told that the war had just ended.

He was certainly affected by his time in Italy and he and my grandmother went back there several times on holiday.

[werewolf123]

I f WWII had not happened, then neither of my parents would have been in Italy. They would not have meet , and i would not have been born. So i am conflicted over WWII. Mom always thought that the anti-aircraft shells bursting over the harbour at Naples had a terrible beauty.