A Disclaimer, of sorts ....
I wish to make it clear that nothing that follows is fiction. Everything that is
contained in this record is true, to the best of my recollection. If I have offended
anyone, or if you think that I have defamed your character, please believe that
such an intention was furthest from my thoughts. I love all my comrades, and
would not seek to do them harm either by word or by deed.
contained in this record is true, to the best of my recollection. If I have offended
anyone, or if you think that I have defamed your character, please believe that
such an intention was furthest from my thoughts. I love all my comrades, and
would not seek to do them harm either by word or by deed.
If, perchance, you should read these lines, I beg you, be kind in your criticism. I
am no a writer, and this, apart from a few hastily, and sometimes ill-advised letters
to the editor, is my first attempt at publishing.
Another point I want to make at the outset: I do not plan to dwell on he
inhumanity of our captors or the grievous wrongs that were visited upon us during
our stay in the prison camps. That has been done often enough. I do not wish to
treat our experiences in a frivolous manner, however. That would be an affront to
the memory of all those brave men who left their bones in a foreign land, and
those who survived and are still suffering in mind and in body.
No, the attitude that brought me through those trials, I firmly believe, was my
ability to search for the bright side of the situation. Sometimes I found it,
sometimes I even found humour. That is the theme that I want to follow in the
simple lines written here.
am no a writer, and this, apart from a few hastily, and sometimes ill-advised letters
to the editor, is my first attempt at publishing.
Another point I want to make at the outset: I do not plan to dwell on he
inhumanity of our captors or the grievous wrongs that were visited upon us during
our stay in the prison camps. That has been done often enough. I do not wish to
treat our experiences in a frivolous manner, however. That would be an affront to
the memory of all those brave men who left their bones in a foreign land, and
those who survived and are still suffering in mind and in body.
No, the attitude that brought me through those trials, I firmly believe, was my
ability to search for the bright side of the situation. Sometimes I found it,
sometimes I even found humour. That is the theme that I want to follow in the
simple lines written here.
The Sound of a
Distant Bugle Calls
Distant Bugle Calls
The sound of a distant bugle floating through the long grass at Quite Viti, where
we were on some sort of manoeuvre, haunts my memory, haunts my dreams. It is
a sound I shall never forget. It seemed to signal a farewell to my innocence, for
soon thereafter my youth was swept away, replaced by the struggle to survive.
For four years all my efforts would be concentrated on the determination to
overcome the brutal conditions under which I was forced to spend my youth. It
would be four long years until I saw Canada again and returned to a normal life. I
cannot understand why I, at 87 years of age, am in such relatively good health,
and looking forward to the future when so many of my comrades have gone
beyond the veil. I am blessed. How long will it last? That I shall not dwell on.
we were on some sort of manoeuvre, haunts my memory, haunts my dreams. It is
a sound I shall never forget. It seemed to signal a farewell to my innocence, for
soon thereafter my youth was swept away, replaced by the struggle to survive.
For four years all my efforts would be concentrated on the determination to
overcome the brutal conditions under which I was forced to spend my youth. It
would be four long years until I saw Canada again and returned to a normal life. I
cannot understand why I, at 87 years of age, am in such relatively good health,
and looking forward to the future when so many of my comrades have gone
beyond the veil. I am blessed. How long will it last? That I shall not dwell on.