Every year on this day we pay tribute and remember those who have sacrificed their lives for us. It is the time of the year where we should think about avoiding future wars, because that’s what the ghosts of the World Wars would have wanted.
Greed and hatred is the root cause of wars; greed often leads to the hatred. My Opa (Grandfather) (died Oct 29, 2003) taught me that sometimes even the enemy are still people like you and me. Most of them probably don’t want to be there fighting either. As a 14 year-old teenager growing up in the Netherlands, my Opa’s country was occupied by the Germans. The Germans stayed in his house while his Mom would cook them meals and he would dig trenches for the Germans. He always maintained that they were very kind to his family. Most of the soliders were probably only a few years older than my Opa and most of them didn’t want to be there, but the common soldier didn’t have much of a choice.
Unfortunately sometimes it only takes one person to cause such devastation and human suffering. Let us remember those who gave their life to put an end to all wars, and may we hope that their dream may some day come true.
Nice tribute, Jim. I like the story of your Opa; it’s one that we don’t often hear in Canada since it’s never been an occupied territory.