A Veteran's Son Looks Forward to the Third Day
A significant anniversary is approaching. Less than eight months from today, on September 3, 2014, the 75th anniversary of England's declaration of war against Germany will be marked.
The lengthy timeline of events related to World War ll will include earlier dates, e.g., on February 5, 1939 Generalisimo Francisco Franco becomes the 68th "Caudillo de España", or Leader of Spain (according to Wikipedia). September 3rd, however, is a very special date for Allied nations around the globe and will be marked in a variety of ways.
As I've been reading books about WW2 (and also WW1) my interest in events that shape our lives to this day has been growing. Sometimes when I come across a particular date or event I will wonder where my father was at the time because, thanks to his well-written Navy memoirs, I know he signed up for duty in the fall of 1941 (the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR) and shortly thereafter Combined Operations), arrived in Scotland for significant training on landing barges in January, 1942, refused an order to clean out demolished and body-ridden landing crafts the day after the Dieppe raid, participated in the invasion of North Africa in November, 1942, and so on.
["Father and son in Norwich, 1950"]
I look forward to the 3rd of September, 2014, its importance and deeper meanings, and realize that "following closely on the heels of the 3rd, each in its turn and tumbling forward like a mighty, thunderous war machine, will come the 75th anniversary of thousands of actions, events and life-changing headlines that, when put together affect the ground upon which we trod this very day." [World War 2: The 75th Anniversary (1)]
Today I am particularly interested in a news article published 70 years ago today in The London Free Press. The headline and sub-head read as follows:
NORWICH BOYS IN THICK OF TWO INVASIONS BY ALLIES
LS. BURYL MCINTYRE AND LS. DOUGLAS HARRISON
WITH "BIGGEST ARMADA OF ALL TIME"
I hope the article will help people know the war that shapes them.
["Doug Harrison, foreground, at Norwich Cenotaph, circa 1990"]
Link to WW2: The 75th Anniversary (1)
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