by fisho mcspaz » Fri Apr 25, 2014 3:34 pm
My grandpa (on my dad's side) was a Navy man - sailed on the N Class Destroyer Napier. I know very little about his experiences, though - only that he participated in the battle of Crete. Interestingly, Mr McSpaz's grandfather was at Crete as well - he was an Army colonel. Grandpa is 92 now and isn't able to march on Anzac Day any more - he's quite frail - but he always marched up until about 2 years ago, and Dad always either took us to the march or sat us down in front of the TV so we could see Grandpa. Mr McSpaz's grandpa died last year, also in his 90s.
I know a lot more about my grandfather on my mum's side, although he wasn't Australian and never fought in WWII. But he lived in Australia most of his life and he contributed a heck of a lot to the community after settling in Adelaide, so I'm going to mention him. He was Lithuanian; the Germans occupied the region first and massacred the Jews, but it was the Russians my grandad was afraid of, because of their treatment of civilians in towns they occupied. Rape and murder were widespread. When the Russians came he escaped from his village into Latvia, was caught by the Germans and imprisoned in a labour camp. He escaped, was caught again and imprisoned again. He escaped again and made it to Australia after obtaining papers claiming he had TB, so he wouldn't be conscripted into army service.
My dad and his brothers never fought in a war - Dad was too young for Vietnam (and an anti-war protester) and his eldest brother was making millions over in Indonesia by then, but his middle brother was drafted. The war ended right before he was due to fly out. Mr McSpaz's dad was drafted and went to Vietnam. He was a pacifist and Mr McSpaz said it ruined his life.
Anyway, I'm glad they all came through their wartime experiences, otherwise we wouldn't be here. My four-year-old was asking questions about Anzac Day, and we've explained it as much as we could to him, and he wanted to sit down and watch the march. When he's older we'll tell him more about the wars, and those who died so people like us could live. It's important to pass it on to our kids, so the sacrifices made will be remembered.
Lest We Forget
Hey Goose, ya big stud! Take me to bed or lose me for ever.