D-Day 6th June 1944

After knocking out 3 photo albums (Provence, Paris, UK & Brunei - viewable on my Travel blog), it occurred to me this morning that it is way past time for a Blog post!  I have been neglectful but then, nothing has inspired me.  Not a lot of worth in pondering, deliberating, chewing over and thinking about nothing, although plenty do!

I wasn't inspired, until today that is!  On the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings, the focus of the world is on the beaches of Normandy.  As I browsed the news, I surprised even myself, I cried.  I cried for D-Day, I cried for the many who lost their lives, I cried for those who lost their mobility and I cried for those who lost family, mates and neighbours.   I cried for those who lost their faith in mankind because it is their very act which reminds us we must never lose our faith in mankind.  I cried because I felt humbled that so many risked their lives for liberty on that day, 70 years ago.

I wonder if they would think it worth it today?  I hope so.

Veterans, re-enactments, world leaders speeches, fireworks, ceremony and many tears, all marking the 70th anniversary of a pivotal mission, the beginning of the end of 6 years of wretchedness in Europe, and an event that was, in the words of Winston Churchill - "undoubtedly the most complicated and difficult that has ever taken place", a mission involving 3 million troops and costing 250,000 lives.  Many nations coming together with a common goal, we could learn from them today.

Most people of my generation cannot begin to imagine the horror and fear that comes with such a war.  Yes, today, we hear talk of terrorists, likely exaggerated and of course there is the occasional bomb blast and events in the Middle East, none of which is pleasant but imagine, walking out of your front door every day and not knowing if you will return.  For 6 long year's, not knowing if your house will even be there when you return.   Hell!!!  What about going to bed at night not knowing if you or yours will waken and survive tomorrow and if you do, what nightmare will it bring?  The smell of fire, the noise of the air-raid warnings, the bombs, the destruction and the stench of death.  Then the elation of victory, followed by the horror and the discovery of the death camps.  The recovery and rebuilding, reconciliation and forgiveness.

As France played host, I dried my tears and smiled at pictures of lunch and "The Top Table"!  Centre stage Francois Hollande, France's President, surrounded by Queen Elizabeth and Presidents Obama and Putin!  Who'd want to work out that seating plan!  Fortunately Queen Margrethe of Denmark, a very gracious and elegant lady helped even up the numbers and made boy-girl-boy-girl-boy look like the plan all along!

Pictures in the Huffington Post were haunting, images from today overlaying those of yesterday!
 
The stories from the veterans, especially those who took the opportunity to sneak out of their care homes to attend makes for another tear followed by a smile ...

Inspirational!

Eversley Street, Liverpool - my Mum is in the midst of the crowd here somewhere!  Just 2 years old.

Note: I hope the creator of the D-Day image doesn't mind my borrowing it, I could find no accreditation.

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They made a difference - Abraham Lincoln

12 February 1809 to 15 April 1865, age 56

Like many great people, taken too young.  Long before the assassination of JFK, the first president to be taken in such a way, and only days after the war he fought so hard to end and yet one he believed in so passionately.

A man taken too soon by an assassin's bullet, not unlike the 35th President almost 100 year's later - President John F Kennedy, the 50th anniversary of who's death was celebrated just last month.

President Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, not a Founding Father and yet a man who influenced modern times in equal, if not greater measure. Without him, could the world we live in today exist? I think not.

Born around 100 year's after the death of Abraham Lincoln, I feel we shared many of the same values. Above all justice, but also a belief in equality and fairness, in my mind, the same thing.

Who is truly qualified to write about such a great man? Not me, for sure, however a series discussing 'people who make a difference' could never be complete without mention of Abe Lincoln. Personally, I have deep respect and admiration for a man who balanced personal values and politics through such traumatic and chaotic times, in the face of adversity from his enemies and even, at times, his allies.

Like another great man from history (Winston Churchill), Abe Lincoln suffered from depression and yet like Winston, he overcame his own challenges for the good of a nation.  A man who, along with his wife Mary, whom he married at their second attempt and from a slave-owning family herself, suffered the premature loss of three children.  Heartbreaking, how does any parent recover from the loss of one child, never mind three?   Of the surviving gene pool, their direct descendants died out on December 24th 1985 with the demise of their childless Great Grandson, Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith.

Born on the American frontier, at a time when education was rare and to a harsh life in a one room log cabin.  Largely self taught, an avid reader, both brave and unafraid.  They say an eldest child is destined to be the leader, yet this was not true for Abraham Lincoln who, even as the second child,  met his destiny full on and truly made a difference.

From a young age, when he witnessed slavery first hand soon after arriving in New Orleans, his actions did more than suggest he couldn't support it.   He wanted and strove for a united nation, a United States, one that outlawed slavery, was innovative and offered opportunity to anybody who wanted to capture it in their hands.  Sadly, even today, over a century later, discrimination continues and yet, without his conviction, the first step on the ladder to a unified people may never have been taken.

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address of 1863 remains today, the most quoted speech in US history and we all owe him a great debt.

Famous Quotes

"Both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the Nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came"

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt"

"You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time"

"Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be"

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power" (my personal favourite!)

and perhaps most prophetic of all:

"In the end, it's not the years in your life that count.  It's the life in your years"

Useless facts:

• Sun sign (astrology): Aquarius
• Birthplace                : Kentucky
• Myers Briggs           : ISFJ

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Good Night, and Good Luck

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Last week, quite by accident I came across a really excellent movie.  I had selected a few DVD's for weekend watching and this one, at only 93 minutes long didn't really qualify for a Saturday night blockbuster viewing.  So, Sunday evening, glass of wine in hand, I was ready for what I expected to be a mildly entertaining true story of a 1950's newspaperman calling out a US politician.

What I got was so much more, engaged from the offset I was riveted!  Initially, the dialogue was hard to follow, typical newsroom chaos, but after a few minutes you see the hero and the bad guy emerge.... as the story unfolds you recognise how it mirrors today... a story of politicians exaggerating a perceived threat, using it to generate paranoia, hysteria and fear and ultimately, becoming all powerful and eventually all but untouchable.  This is the story of a man who risked all, daring to challenge, sadly a man apparently without equal in today's modern era.

The name of the film?  Good Night, and Good Luck, directed by and starring George Clooney.  The movie tells the story of Ed Murrow challenging Senator Joe McCarthy, an anti-communist crusader, in a cold war era.  The man who's name coined the term McCarthyism, used today to describe the practice of making accusations of political disloyalty without evidence.

I won't spoil the storyline for you, but I will tell you, Ed Murrow will inspire.  An employee of CBS, his wartime broadcasts still famous today, his signature opening memorable, "This is London," and his closing catchphrase "good night, and good luck" not only the name used for this film but also adapted by a young Princess Elizabeth, making a radio broadcast in the time of the London blitz and signing off with "good night, and good luck to you all".

A life long chain smoker who died of lung cancer when only 57, his life story was captivating and his legacy, one of honesty and integrity, and one would hope, inspirational for journalists today.

There are many speeches and quotes attributed to Ed Murrow, for me, one of his best is as apt today as it was yesterday.... perhaps more so.....

"We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men – not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate, and to defend causes that were, for the moment, unpopular....

......... We proclaim ourselves, as indeed we are, the defenders of freedom, wherever it continues to exist in the world, but we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home. The actions of the junior Senator from Wisconsin have caused alarm and dismay amongst our allies abroad, and given considerable comfort to our enemies. And whose fault is that? Not really his. He didn't create this situation of fear; he merely exploited it—and rather successfully."

An awe inspiring WWII story

So many WWII stories are sad, shocking and appalling beyond words, but alongside the tragedy there are many tales of bravery, heroics and heart warming reports.  Rarely are these stories of "good Germans" perhaps with the exception of one of the most famous Oskar Schindler......

Every now and again however, a tale comes to light that is inspirational.... I recently came across one such tale and hope you are as moved by this story as I was.....

Wartime chivalry

or maybe this version ....

photo credit: Armchair Aviator cc

This is the story of an allied aircraft beaten so badly in an air fight, the crew so devastated by injury or death, that they were unlikely to make it home, the 21 year old American pilot, Lt Charlie Brown, on his first combat mission, alone over Germany in 1943 when a German Messerschmitt fighter plane, piloted by Luftwaffe veteran Franz Stigler, flew alongside them.... at a time when they thought they were sitting ducks, they witnessed an incredible act of chivalry....

photo credit: Jerry Gunner cc

A German fighter pilot, one strike away from winning Germany's highest honour for valour "The Knights Cross" had the allied aircraft in his sights.  A man who risked death for dishonour if the Nazi SS discovered his deed, flew alongside the ailing aircraft and honoured his humanity instead.  His respect for the code of honour and integrity of soldiers and fighting men through the ages... Not only did he not fire on them, he helped them avoid anti aircraft batteries lining the coast as he directed them towards neutral Sweden......

The bond between soldiers, even on opposing sides is a special one, [fortunately] not experienced by many of us.....

So wonderful that these two pilots of WWII were reunited post war in 1989 and went on to travel together, taking their story to others... dying only 8 months apart in 2008, may they rest in peace and may Hollywood make a movie that respects the sentiment, the integrity and the honour!

Boston Marathon bombings

photo credit: Werner Kunz via photopin cc

Boston, Massachusetts!  Such a beautiful city, by reputation a highly desirable place to live and its high cost of living doesn't seem to have deterred its 7.6 million inhabitants.  Situated across the river from Cambridge home to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the world famous Harvard, the city this week was marred by a despicable act of terrorism.

Trial by media is a dangerous precedent but all the indications are that two young men, originally from Chechnya chose a despicable path.  The Boston Marathon bombings on Monday were shocking and the motivation still a mystery.  By all accounts, the Tsarnaev brothers were welcomed by America, given scholarships, a home, good education but most importantly a safe shelter away from war torn Chechnya in the 1990's.   The older brother has a history of violence, arrested in 2009 for domestic assault and battery and the media has hinted about him mysteriously spending 6 months in Russia last year and "nobody knows why".  Thereby saying much without saying anything at all and now Russia is guilty by implication too!  Wars and hatred are so easily fed!

photo credit: hahatango via photopin cc

Why perpetrate such a heinous crime? We may never know, there may never be a trial and we may have no choice but to trust the FBI and the media when they tell us these two men are truly guilty and that they have no co-conspirators.  Has it been proven conclusively?  No, but the facts as presented certainly appear to point in that direction.

By the end of the week, one lies in a morgue, first shot by the police, but allegedly dead as a result of being run over by his younger brother.  The second, captured but with a serious throat injury leaving him unable to talk.  Convenient perhaps?

And so to the victims, three dead from the bombings and a young MIT police officer gunned down in a shoot out on Friday.  So many horrifically injured and so many lives ruined.  Jeff Bauman is clearly a hero, a man who lost both of his legs below the knee and yet found time to help the FBI identify at least one of the suspects.  His son too has lost both of his legs in the bombing.  How do you recover from this?  I was disgusted and appalled to see that he will be left to meet his own medical expenses.  WHAT THE?????  Amidst the physical and mental trauma, Jeff and the other 14 victims who lost limbs, are expected to fund their own medical expenses, inevitably hundreds of thousands of dollars each.

The 176 people injured as a result of this terrible crime should not have to face the added stress of finding money for medical treatment.  Surely a country that can spend trillions of dollars on war can find the money to treat these innocent victims!  Will Dzhokar Tsarnaev also have to fund his own medical treatment or will he and his family receive compensation for loss of life at the hands of the FBI?

America, for a country that has so much, surely it is time to reassess some of your values? 

.... and so to next week... no doubt the blame game will commence... it already has.... which Muslim cleric influenced these men?  Which anti-terrorist organisation failed to monitor their email or internet activity?  Why did they let him go when they arrested him in 2011 (after Russia allegedly asked for him to be investigated).  Outside of influence and failure to prevent their actions, if guilty, they made the choice.  They decided to take this action, nobody did it for them.

So now the authorities have yet more reason to curb freedom of the innocent, all in the name of anti-terrorism.......