Seems we had the same kind of Dads , but it took me hours to write that I kept walking away with tears streaming down my face at how I miss him and it only happens when I read his stuff . My dad Liked the German people he said they where just like us . But not the SS etc . I remember asking him once did you ever think we would loose and was told Never once did it enter my head I knew we were going to win it was only a matter of time, he said it in a tone that told me never ask that question again .I now see where I get my staying power from .
Like JTL's wonderful story, my memory and thoughts on Sunday were of my Dad. He also rarely spoke of WW2 and much of what we found out was not until after his death.
He was with the BEF into France in 1939, and during the retreat, was tasked with setting up a defensive line to try to keep the German Army from reaching Dunkirk before the evacuation was completed.
His unit fought until apparently out of ammunition and were eventually captured by (fortunately) the German Army and not the SS. A long march to Germany and then the rest of the War in PoW camps.
He rarely spoke of what he experienced, but when I was 14 he did take us on a holiday that included where he was captured, where his friends were buried and then eventually to the small Bavarian town of Eichstatt, his 2nd PoW camp (Oflag V11B) and where he spent the latter part of the War.
Years later I asked him how he could manage to have apparently no malice to Germans we met? His answer was "Simon, I believe there are only two types of people in this world; those who care about others and those who don't"
It took me time to understand what he meant, but last Sunday my thoughts and memories took over; I wore my poppy and I planted a small cross with "In Rememberance of Maj Donald Budd TD RA and all WW2 PoWs"
Bud
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2003 - 4/4
