I've just finished watching the service at the Cenotaph on tv. I'm surprised at how emotional it was for me. My grandparents were too young to fight in the war - they were only just in their teens when WWII ended, and my great-grandfather was a miner, so whilst he still contributed to the war effort, he didn't see active service. My grandfather did his national service with the RAF, but that was in the 50's, and my cousin was in the Navy, out in the Gulf during the Afghanistan and Iraq conflcts, but he was lucky in that no-one he knew was killed, and he left the Navy a few years ago. I am sure some relatives must have fought during major conflicts, but they would be distant ones. Still, watching it really got to me this year. I am lucky that my parents raised me with awareness of our history and the conflicts we have been engaged in, and the bravery that those involved demonstrated, and so I have always appreciated what people have done in order to preserve our country and our freedom.
I suppose, same as last year, I dislike how some people just don't seem to care. At the start of the service they showed a list of the British soldiers who have died in the last year, and their ages. The majority were teenagers or in their early twenties. The youngest person to die in WWI was 14. I am 23 and I could not show the courage which people of my age have been showing over the last century. And yet, some people will keep going on about how this is an illegal war and they don't support it, and so they won't buy a poppy. That isn't what a poppy is for. I do not support war, I feel that if we are threatened we should fight to preserve our country, but we shouldn't fight to gain something, just to defend. However, I seperate the war issue, to the soldier issue. I agree with the current war, in some ways, and disagree with it in other ways. But I unconditionally support the soldiers fighting, for they are doing what they believe to be right for their country. And I will show my recognisation and appreciation of what past generations have done also. I am just disappointed that a lot of people in my area think boycotting what the Royal Legion are doing is a way of protesting against the war.
I suppose, same as last year, I dislike how some people just don't seem to care. At the start of the service they showed a list of the British soldiers who have died in the last year, and their ages. The majority were teenagers or in their early twenties. The youngest person to die in WWI was 14. I am 23 and I could not show the courage which people of my age have been showing over the last century. And yet, some people will keep going on about how this is an illegal war and they don't support it, and so they won't buy a poppy. That isn't what a poppy is for. I do not support war, I feel that if we are threatened we should fight to preserve our country, but we shouldn't fight to gain something, just to defend. However, I seperate the war issue, to the soldier issue. I agree with the current war, in some ways, and disagree with it in other ways. But I unconditionally support the soldiers fighting, for they are doing what they believe to be right for their country. And I will show my recognisation and appreciation of what past generations have done also. I am just disappointed that a lot of people in my area think boycotting what the Royal Legion are doing is a way of protesting against the war.
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