Lest We Forget

[Poppet 703]

 

 

Oh and I am Irish BTW.

English/Irish??  Or  American/Irish    Or iorish/iorish  be gora be gora be gora 

 

May you have:

No frost on your spuds,

No worms on your cabbage,

May your goat give plenty of milk,

And if you inherent a Donkey,

May she be in foal.  

[~Craig~ 10]

 

 

English/Irish??  Or  American/Irish    Or iorish/iorish

 

Mother: Derry, Father: Belfast!   Bit o' d'sout, bit o'd'nort! :smile:

[Poppet 703]

Mother: Derry, Father: Belfast!   Bit o' d'sout, bit o'd'nort! :smile:

Lol good stuff 

[goates 576]

 

 

The Dieppe Raids were a disaster dressed as a trial run, a politically motivated decision made by people who didn't suffer or lose anybody.  The problem was the Soviet Union (the somewhat forgotten element in WW2) wanted a second front and considering they lost over 20 million people, i think they certainly had the right to ask.

 

There is recent evidence that the Dieppe raid was an attempt to get one of the then new four rotor Enigma machines.

 

http://globalnews.ca/news/274605/breaking-german-codes-real-reason-for-1942-dieppe-raid-historian/

 

http://www.army-armee.forces.gc.ca/assets/ARMY_Internet/docs/en/canadian-army-journal/volume-15/CAJ15-2-11-e.pdf

[Paul K 1,317]

Indeed yes, Goates, I saw something about that too. Intriguing !

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

This is from a Canadian website, Canada at War:

My Paternal Grandfather was an officer involved in the Dieppe Raids. Also involved in the D-Day invasions. I prefer to keep his story to myself if you don't mind.

 

He is actually an American by background directly related to Zachary Taylor (13 President of the United States). Part of that family tree ended up in Western Canada working with the RCMP. At the start of WW2 he enlisted with the Canadian Army right away before the US got involved. I won't say much of his story online as that is something that was between him and I. When he did get back from the war (which wasn't until 1949) he did abandon Canada and went back to the United States. I do believe the events deeply effected him for the rest of his life and therefore walked away and never looked back.

 

On my mother side they were from the Dominion of Newfoundland which was a country at the time. My grandfather enlisted with the RAF as Newfoundland was too small for an air force at the time. His training started in the USA where my mother was born (in New Jersey). He went on to become a navigator on the Lancasters. He also had a bad case of emphysema which saw him grounded from time to time so he was reassigned to new crew on a few occasions as crew was lost when his health was stricken. That actually saved his life but he wasn't happy about it. The medics refused to let him fly but he would have if he could have. After the war he returned to Newfoundland and became involved in its joining Canada in 1949, after that he got heavily involved in reforming Canada's Armed Forces as well as other changes as part of Canada's new direction (and a new flag).

 

My father did remarry when I was around 5 and my step-mothers father was also a great guy who took on his new step-grandchildren as equals. He was enlisted in the RCAF and was a spitfire pilot. One thing he did say about the beach invasions is how grateful he was to be flying above and not landing on the beaches below. He had a front row seat on the events of those days. He refused to talk about the war until an extraordinary event happened. The spitfire he flew on D-Day was AE-H (AB 910) and had been fully restored to fly in the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. They flew him over to be apart of that ceremony and on his return to Canada was the first he was able to talk about the war, I think he found reconciliation.

 

This is my family and I prefer their story. The Dieppe Raids was an awful disaster that had a profound impact on people I love for the remainder of their lives. Part of the outcome of these events did lead to changes in the Canadian Armed Forces as the structure of it is much different today. Like any disaster that can lead to necessary change.

[CrownCityMisfits 58]

Regardless of the history behind this event, that is an absolutely lovely photo.

[Paul K 1,317]

The last I'll post on the subject, but this article is from the Hebrides News website and reports on the ceremonies held in Scotland's Outer Hebrides islands to commemorate local involvement in the Gallipoli campaign.

 

http://www.hebrides-news.com/gallipoli-ceremony-in-stornoway-26415.html

 

Shame on anyone who would disregard their sacrifice alongside others.

[n4gix 4,947]

Well, this thread was just about over, but now that the pot has been stirred again, it's time to simply close it out.

 

Please don't allow this memorial event to become a point of contention next year...

 

To all the service men and women who participated, thank you for your service and sacrifice.