Murphy's letter from Edinburgh

 

Remembering the Past

This weekend we remember the surrender of Germany and the end of the second world war - and rightly so.  Some people of the younger generation - and because of ignorance - think we should end these ceremonies.

It's like some people who try to put up the argument that the Americans only came in to the war when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour.  They say this, not through any information or learning of the war years, but by sheer ignorance and no understanding of the history of this conflict.

People came from all over the Commonwealth to bolster up the British forces and too fight for the freedoms that we enjoy today.  Let's not forget the many Americans who came here at the beginning of the first and second world wars and sacrificed their lives in these conflicts.

A lot of these were people who had immigrated from this country to settle in America and other parts of the commonwealth, and who still had relations in this country.  A lot of young men and women came over and played an important role in both wars, and to deny them the recognition for their sacrifices would be a disgrace.

Of course there will be those who have never learned the facts that politics played in the wars of the twentieth century.  But without the people from the many other countries taking our side, we might have been in a lot of trouble during the war years.

We owe these people our thanks, and we should remember from our past history that many countries took the British side, and without them our history might have had to rewritten.  There are too many countries to mention, but they all played their role in the defeat of Hitler and Mussolini.

The services that we hold to remember VE and VJ Day will come to an end this year as far as we have been informed.  But there have been many conflicts since the second world war, and I believe that remembrance Sunday in November should still remain for our serving forces, ex servicemen and women along with their families.

We owe them our gratitude for defending our country during times of tension and through times of peace.

It would be great if there were no wars and everybody got on with everyone else, but in the real world that's fantasy, and we need to understand that.  Too sustain peace we need our armed forces and we need to support them fully for our security.

This weekend is to remember all of those who died or were maimed with horrific injuries during the war years of 1939 to 1945, because without the determination and courage of these people who knows what would have happened.  And let's not forget the civilians who were in reserved occupations who were just as important in the production of food, arms and goods that were required during these dark years.

Too the many of those dark years, I pay homage to you like the many people who through leaning and understand of the past years realize the hard times that were endured so that we can be what we are today.

Written by Andrew Murphy 8 May 2005

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