- Remembrance Day

My father, Fred Farha, was a World War II veteran. He trained in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and was then shipped off to England.

He was responsible for loading bombs onto the planes that flew over Germany to carry out their mission. From the beginning of the war, my dad always dreamed of being a bomber - actually flying in the planes and dropping the bombs. After many years, he finally had his opportunity. After years of wanting to be a bomber, he got the job. But it was not to be. One week later, the war ended.

In retrospect, my dad said that perhaps it was for the best. He said that in a way, he was glad he didn't have to deal with the possible remorse that came from directly killing others.

Of course, he realized that by loading bombs onto the planes, at the end of the day, it basically amounted to the same thing. And yet, as the years passed, he felt a sense of relief that he had not been in the planes when they released their deadly cargo.

My grandfather was a war chaplain. He had been pastoring in Dalesville, Quebec but left to serve in France, counselling the soldiers, offering spiritual support. My mother said that when he came home, he was a changed man. He had been hardened by the continual suffering he witnessed; his faith had suffered a death blow. He was never the same again.

What difficult situations our veterans were in! They were separated from home, family and loved ones. Many were surrounded by constant suffering, confronted by death on an ongoing basis. Many were often forced to commit acts they knew would cause suffering and death to others.

We have all witnessed and we see the consequences of war, either firsthand or as distant observers.

For those who committed those acts, though, surely there could never be a complete sense of satisfaction, knowing human life had been destroyed, whether those lives were "on the enemy side" or not.

And so, lest we forget....

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

If you've never seen the beautiful video tribute George made
of my dad, you can view it here:

http://www.wendy.ca/content/view/29/33/

___________________________________________

FIRST TIME BLOGGING? SOME TIPS!

- If you'd like to post a comment down below, you must either be a Google member or open a Google account. I haven't tried to become a Google member - someone did it for me - but my friends tell me it's a very frustrating experience! I will try to find out the steps you need to take to become a member on my blog here, and perhaps I can post step-by-step instructions for you in the near future.

If you'd like to leave a comment but don't wish to become a member, email your comments to me at my private email address, or through the Contact Page on my website here:  www.wendy.ca  I will copy and paste your comments here on my blog.

- If you'd like to look at some of my archived Blog Postings, look at the sidebar on the right. To see postings from another month, choose the month and click on it. All the entries for that month will appear in a pulldown menu. Choose a title and click on that.

OR

- Look for the Older Post title towards the bottom of this and every page, just above my photograph. Click on that, and you will be taken to the last few posts. Keep clicking on Older Post to continue going back through the archived postings.

Hope this helps!

Love, Wendy