Remembering down the generations
ANZAC day today in Australia and here in
New Zealand. They choose this date as a day of Remembrance for veterans and fallen comrades-in-arms as it is the anniversary of the beach landing at Gallipoli.
We, as a family, attended a service in Havelock North and stood together with many others as the third and fourth generation. When I was explaining it to my kids in class yesterday it dawned on me that it is closing in on 100 years ago.
Kids nowadays, I thought, but then it is a long time ago and perhaps it IS on the shoulders of schools and community groups to fan the flame of remembrance.
The community constable spoke about his father being in the 2nd World War as a merchant seaman…. ‘not so glamorous for a 7 year old boy into spitfires and hurricanes’ he said.
I found his talk most helpful though, as I consider that it was my Grandfather who parachuted into France on D-Day. My other grandfather fire fighting at
Manchester docks during the Blitz. My Great-Grandfather, I discovered over the Easter break who sat, rear facing in biplane, machine gun in hand during WWI.
Then I’m there with MY son, another generation further on and I’m going to be explaining about his Great-Grandfather and Great-Great-Grandfathers…. I’m not saying we should forget, all I am saying is it becomes harder and harder to remember, to explain. But we must.
I think the need to connect our youth to the military sacrifices of previous and even current generations of servicemen and servicewomen is a compelling reason for digital storytelling projects focused on veteran oral history. The Veteran Oral History Project of the US Library of Congress is one effort I know about focused on preserving those stories for posterity. Is something similar going on in New Zealand? Getting students to interview and then share their interviews with veterans can be a very powerful learning experience. I know when I was about 14 years old I had to interview someone for a world history project, and I interviewed my neighbor who had been a soldier in the Allied landings on Anzio beach in Italy during the 2nd World War. Mr. Kitterman’s stories are ones I’ll never forget.
I didn’t know much about Gallipoli until I visited Turkey for a couple weeks in 1986, and we saw some of the pillboxes that were still in place next to the beaches where the battles were fought. Difficult to imagine the sacrifices made by those who fought there. Very important to remember them, their sacrifices, and the reasons they fought.
When we forget, we are doomed to repeat. We have an obligation to today’s and tomorrow’s youth not to let that happen.