November.
Wind swept. Cold. Wet.
A month for remembering. Edmund Burke once said that “those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it”.
My father landed on Juno Beach in 1944. It was D-Day. He was a member of the Highland Light Infantry signal corps and he came home safely. He never spoke about his wartime experiences with his family. Humorous incidents, yes, but nothing else. I know that this is a common trait amongst veterans. Perhaps the combatants thought that not speaking about their personal horrors would lessen the chance that others would have to repeat them. I don’t know.
It is important that we honour those that sacrificed so much — their youth, their opportunities, their lives.
But, perhaps we should also pause during our periods of remembrance and reflect upon our dreams. Our ‘what could be’. After all, those who gave so much did so with the understanding that they were struggling for a better future. Not just for themselves, but for those who followed.
We would do well to strive for that future, lest we forget.
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