Remembrance Day: Thank You Granddad November 11, 2008
Every Remembrance Day, we take a moment to remember all the sacrifices that have been and are being made by our country’s soldiers in defense of our country. My Granddad fought in World War II and every year on this special day I think of him and everything that he has done. Unfortunately, I was unable to join him this year at the cenotaph to commemorate the friends he lost during the war. This year has been a particularly hard one for him, as he lost his loving wife of 57 years this summer. I know that Remembrance Day is an extremely important day for him and I want him to know that I am thinking of him and sending all of my love over his way. I am very thankful for everything that he and his friends and colleagues did for us.
The details of what he did during the war are still somewhat sketchy as he was flying top secret missions that he was not allowed to talk about for 50 years. This time frame has just passed, but as you’d imagine, after not being allowed to talk about it for that long, one has grown accustomed to keeping the secret.
From what I have heard either from my Granddad or second hand through my Mom, Granddad joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) when he was 17. He flew a number of planes, including gliders. One of his missions was to fly a massive cargo glider carrying a large number of troops behind enemy lines. This was achieved by the glider being towed by a large powered plane until they were close to enemy territory. At that point, the glider was released and Granddad flew the plane to a secret field and safely landed the plane. They used the gliders because they were so quiet, they couldn’t be heard by people on the ground. Once down, and the troops were deployed, the plane was abandoned and Granddad had to rendezvous with people that helped him get back across the border without getting caught. His plane was shot at on one of these missions and he still has the shrapnel from that in his back to this day.
I know that this is just a small part of what he did during his time in the Air Force and I will probably never understand the true extent of everything he did during the war. As time passes and each year we have fewer veterans with us to tell us their stories, we need to make sure that we take the time to hear and learn about the stories from the war - lest we forget.
So I took a small portion of my day to say thanks to everyone who has ever fought a war in defense of this country and remember the great sacrifices that they made so that we can live with the freedoms that we take for granted every day.
My Papa was a tank and plane engine engineer in various areas of Europe and Africa. He was part of the British Army regiment in Scotland.
He was dropped into war zones to make repairs when machines broke down while in the line of fire. He has shrapnel in his back and has had tinnitus in his ears from bombs.
Now at the grand old age of 89, he’s still going strong and still goes into my younger cousins school classes to tell his story.
That is so sad…but wonderful that you can honour him too.
My Great Uncle was in the RAF..but flew Lancaster Bombers….had hairy stories about that.
My Grandfather was in the SeaForth Highlanders but didn’t see ‘action’ so to speak…
Powerful post.
My cousin from the West Indies also served as a pilot in the RAF. Sadly he passed away last month. Each Remembrance Day there are unfortunately less people from the Great Wars to personally thank and acknowledge.
Please pass along a thank you from me.
Jenn Lowther, that is a lovely commemoration of your Granddad and his fellow veterans. He’s lucky to have had such an honourable and exciting life, and also to have a granddaughter like you!
Very big thank yous to your granddad and all the granddads! Without them who knows what our lives would be like today. This is a really sweet article Jenn, he must be very proud.
Your words are powerful Jenn - Simply finding them shows your gentle pride, and letting them up shares the honor and reverie. Lovely, my dear!
What a wonderful tribute to your Granddad! He is very proud of you and all that you have accomplished so far in your life. We all know that you will go far in whatever direction your exciting life takes you. Your hounouring your Granddad this way tells him that you are also very proud of all his efforts in the war. And really, that is what Rememberance Day is all about. As your late Granny would have said “Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
Love ya Darlin….Mom