Yes Sir!
Two years ago, almost, I had the privilige to attend the Battle of Britain ceremony at Westminster Abby... (Chuck was there and all that...)
My wife an I were seated down the back, in front of the little rectangle in the floor... full of little red and black poppies.
Well then, about half a dozen of old geezers, fabulous old men, distiguished, proud, standing tall..., they carried in the RAF Battle of Britain register... full of names of those who had flown and fallen... it was a substantial sized book about 6ins thick... can't believe it, just full of names. Talk about a humbling experience!
After the ceremony, (Chuck left and all of that), and we were hanging out, out front... a couple of Spitfires flew over. A little old lady said to me, "You know, the last time I saw those, they were dog-fighitng over Croyden". Well, damn, I had a lump in my throat the size of a cricket ball... 'twas hard not to cry... BTW, I'm a big guy & big guy's just don't do that kinda thing, ya know.
Later in that trip, we went to the Duxford aerodrome near Cambridge... what a fabulous place for folks interested in aeroplanes, history and the like... well, (apart from all the British stuff), there is an American memorial there... full of stuff like a B-52, F-111, U-2, Mustang, Superfortress, you name it... even a piece of Sadam's super gun... scary... well, you get the drift...
The most sobering thing for me was outside that American exhibit... now, imagine a glass wall 150 to 200 yards long, about 6ft high... well, on it were etched aeroplane images, you know, B-17's etc, about 6 inches wingspan, filling this whole glass wall... now, each of these were representing a lost US aeroplane, each with its flight crew, who perished during that critical time in our history. Bigger lump!
Walking back to the car lot, we passed by a tiny little shed... it was the RAF control center for the Battle of Britain operations... another lump in the throat!
Enough!
After that, I needed a beer... off to Cambridge we went... found a pub near Kings College... well, the ceiling of this pub was jam packed with signatures, various graffiti, jokes etc of guys who went there before they went off the next day to dump on Adolf. Geez... all I could do was lift a tost to each and every one...
Maybe this should have been be a Memorial Day observation but, what the hell... ('tis true, I was an Aussie once...well, we're well known to be a little behind....)
Hope ya all have a great 4th!
Cheers.... |
