She hadn’t
yet been born. What would it have been like to be there with her brother and
four older sisters and their mother, welcoming their daddy back home from
Europe? His military service
covered the WWII years. Whereas he’d spent the
majority of his military service in an engineers’ battalion, doing fortifications
and other security work around the UK, his last year saw him in Europe as part
of the British Liberation Army.
 |
Returned Allied Soldier
Courtesy: Daily Mail, UK.
|
My wife,
May, would like to have heard her dad share stories of his military service,
but as is often the case with veterans who’d witnessed tragic scenes, his lips
were sealed . . . just wouldn’t talk about them. We understand, however, that
he had witnessed horrific scenes amidst appalling conditions in that final year
of service, as they moved in to liberate people and prisoners of war in areas
which had been under Nazi control.
 |
| May's Dad, early 1940s. |
He was the
lone survivor of four of his hometown buddies who went into wartime service.
Three
didn’t return home alive; he did. Whereas ‘survivor’s guilt’ likely wasn’t
warranted, I suspect he quietly suffered from it. I wish now that I were able to
encourage him to open up and unload the burdens of his heart, but he’s long
gone. He died in Scotland in 1977, when we were already living in Canada. Poignantly today I reflect that I’m now the same age that he
was when he died.
Are you an
Armed Forces vet? Or, is there one in your family or friendship circle? Helping
those who carry painful, traumatic memories to find relief requires considerable
sensitivity.
Here’s a
path that has helped me and many folks to deal with deep and troubling personal
concerns: In the quietness of solitude and the
sanctuary of my own heart, mostly in private and sometimes with a trusted
friend who is a true believer in Jesus, I confess my need, pouring it all out
in Jesus’ name to God – my loving Heavenly Father. I sincerely ask for grace to
accept His forgiveness for my failures and sins in a spirit of forgiveness
towards others. Jesus Christ died and rose again to cleanse and secure
forgiveness for me and for us all.
Following
through, I seek strength to live in that new reality in a spirit of gratitude.
I’ve found that my burdens are often lightened by following this path.
Frequent, daily talks with Jesus along life’s pathway are precious and
healthful to me.
War is a
terrible thing and surely oughtn’t to be glamourized. It involves more than
physical bodies and material armaments; war is a spiritual thing, and involves
deep spiritual forces and consequences. Sadly, despite this age of such great
enlightenment the dark spectre of war continually stalks the earth.
Let us
pray for our nation,
as we remember with respect and commemorate with gratitude
those who have paid the ultimate price and those who continue meeting the great
cost of keeping our nation “glorious and free”!
~~+~~
Peter A. Black is a retired pastor – well, sort of retired – and lives in Southwestern Ontario. He writes a weekly inspirational newspaper column, P-Pep! and is author of Raise Your Gaze ... Mindful Musings of a Grateful Heart, and Parables from the Pond -- a children's / family book. ~~+~~
