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Especially for those in their 20's
My degree in History trained me to search the past for lessons on how to handle the future, thus, my fascination with war and politics. So when November rolls around, I'm glued to Rembrance Day tributes in the paper (rather than Sunday football on the tube.) I spend as much timing studying the sepia photo insets as I do reading the stories of danger and courage. The Toronto Star's coverage this year is touching, I have quoted from it below.
There are so many lessons to glean for all of us. But mostly I see the pertinence for those in their 20's. So if you're in your 20's, you may be freshly out of school or soon to be. You may be wondering where to go, what to do, how to make a difference, how to climb the corporate latter and how to pay for your student loan and the car you want. If you're already working, you may, by now, have workplace woes like office gossip, cubicle crowding, cut-throat competition and client wars.
Veteran's stories are rich with insight and start when they were barely 20, some even lied to be enlisted. Their revelations are timeless; here are three:
1. Someone always has it worse than you
"I came back with my life. That's my medal," says Cecil Hancock, Air Force navigator in WWII. He flew 32 missions, mainly bombing German submarine bases and factories.
2. Life & work - keeping it in perspective
Vet's struggle with how to handle their memories. Some have memoribilia all around them, others are deeply disturbed by it. Combat neurosis wasn't studied, let alone accepted, until the 1970's. Charles Kewan's (WWII Air Force pilot/mechanic) matter of fact statement is powerful, "We had a job to do, and we bloody did it." His was dropping supplies into the Japanese juggle, sometimes in a plane full of bullet holes.
3. People are people
When picking up Italian prisoners, veteran Frank Udell remembers, "We tried to converse with them. It's a silly thing to say when you're at war, but they were nice people." Even in hard times, being civil and respectful is the right way to fly.
There are so many lessons to glean for all of us. But mostly I see the pertinence for those in their 20's. So if you're in your 20's, you may be freshly out of school or soon to be. You may be wondering where to go, what to do, how to make a difference, how to climb the corporate latter and how to pay for your student loan and the car you want. If you're already working, you may, by now, have workplace woes like office gossip, cubicle crowding, cut-throat competition and client wars.
Veteran's stories are rich with insight and start when they were barely 20, some even lied to be enlisted. Their revelations are timeless; here are three:
1. Someone always has it worse than you
"I came back with my life. That's my medal," says Cecil Hancock, Air Force navigator in WWII. He flew 32 missions, mainly bombing German submarine bases and factories.
2. Life & work - keeping it in perspective
Vet's struggle with how to handle their memories. Some have memoribilia all around them, others are deeply disturbed by it. Combat neurosis wasn't studied, let alone accepted, until the 1970's. Charles Kewan's (WWII Air Force pilot/mechanic) matter of fact statement is powerful, "We had a job to do, and we bloody did it." His was dropping supplies into the Japanese juggle, sometimes in a plane full of bullet holes.
3. People are people
When picking up Italian prisoners, veteran Frank Udell remembers, "We tried to converse with them. It's a silly thing to say when you're at war, but they were nice people." Even in hard times, being civil and respectful is the right way to fly.
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© 2012 Created by Chris Russell.
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