ABC Wednesday, V for Veteran

 

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When we talk about veterans, we refer to the military men and women who served in the wars of the last century, and especially those soldiers who served during WW I and WW II. But in the mean time there have been more wars, like Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan. Each of these wars have military people who are too old to fight or have been injured in such a way that they cannot serve anymore.

Last week we commemorated D-Day. The veterans of this invasion 70 years ago, are really very old. Even if they were the very young ones when they fought in Normandy.

Wikipedia says:

"It was the last hurrah for the men of the greatest generation and they were determined to mark their contribution to history with a show.

And one, at least, told his story for the first time because the horror was too severe to confront and convey until now.

Watched by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Normandy Veterans’ Association staged what is expected to be its final parade through the streets of the seaside village where many of its members landed 70 years ago yesterday.

In Arromanches, beside Gold Beach, the veterans marched to the applause of a 3,000 crowd, heads held high.

Those in wheelchairs paraded first followed by around 100 men marching behind a French band, as other veterans, too frail to take part, watched from seats in front of William and Kate.

The association is due to disband later this year as its numbers dwindle, although many, in their 80s and 90s, have agreed to keep returning anyway.

They come not only to pay their respects to the friends but in some cases to find release from the demons that have haunted them ever since.

One such yesterday was Ken Scott, 98, a former Platoon Sergeant with the Durham Light Infantry who finally told the story he dared not tell his friends."

I say:

"All wars were made for nothing, but once one has been started you have to go on and try to end it by killing as many enemies( fellow humans) as possible. Every soldier( usually a nice and pleasant young man) has to become a killing machine. When the war is over, the soldier is so traumatised , that he has lost his nice and pleasant character. He is not the same anymore.

I hate wars. The veterans have  to live a life of terrible memories and nightmares. They are the victims of belligerent rulers who started these fatal conflicts. Wars end without winners, there are only losers. The only people who benifit from a war are the arms manifacturers."

 We thank Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC, and we must thank Roger too for the weekly job to find  ten bloggers for each of the ABC Team members  to visit and to read their posts. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar . This week we are looking for words    beginning with V.