Faithfully yours - The personal side of war: part one

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Published on Saturday, November 5, 2016

By Neil Strohschein

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As I write these words, I am putting the finishing touches on my remarks for the Remembrance Day service in Kelwood. Part of my preparation time has been spent reading two books: Winston Churchill’s The Gathering Storm and William Shirer’s The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.

Churchill’s book is the first of a six-part history of World War II. Shirer’s single volume covers the same period of history, but is written by a man who lived in Germany during those years. I am trying to read both accounts side by side to get a better picture of the political dynamics that lead to one of the bloodiest and costliest conflicts in human history.

Each writer tries to present a factual account of the events that lead to WWII. As a news reporter, Shirer had access to people and places from which ordinary Germans were barred. He records the public side of the war—the things that everyone saw—the rise of the National Socialist Party in Germany, Hitler’s consolidation of power, the torchlight marches, the massive political rallies, the soldiers marching to war and the reports that came back from the front as the Reich expanded its territory, then lost what it had gained and ultimately was destroyed.

Churchill gives us the political account of the war, beginning with his election to the House of Commons, his work as First Lord of the Admiralty in Neville Chamberlain’s cabinet and finally as the Prime Minister whose steady hand and positive spirit kept Great Britain’s morale high during some of its darkest hours. From Churchill, we learn what goes on behind the scenes, as members of the War Cabinet and the Generals who serve with them undertake the massive task of recruiting, training and equipping soldiers, sailors and pilots—first to repel enemy attacks and then to launch successful attacks of their own.

But while Churchill and Shirer do an excellent job of presenting the political and public sides of war, they overlook a third side to every war—the personal side.

You see, politicians don’t go to war—people do. Politicians and the high-ranking officers who work with them plan the battle strategies and assign armies, fleets and squadrons to carry them out. But it is the soldiers on the ground, the sailors at their posts and the pilots and crews of fighters and bombers who do the work. These ordinary people, whose courage and devotion are second to none, are the ones we honor every Remembrance Day.

Sometime during this coming week, please take a trip to the war memorial in your community. Stand in front of it for a while and read some of the names etched on its surface. They may not mean much to you, but please remember this. Those named on our memorials were once members of our communities. They attended our schools. They worshiped in our churches. They worked in our stores, shops or on our farms. They had hopes and dreams. Some were married with young children. Others were looking forward to settling down, getting married and raising families of their own.

Then war was declared and they left everything to go to war. They fell with their faces to the foe. They let their hopes and dreams die with them so that you and I could live in a land where every hope and dream we have can be fulfilled.

The names etched in stone will become illegible over time. I hope the memory of their sacrifice will live in our hearts forever.