Duci has a good point. Living through it is a horse of a different color for some. Very real as they were there. For the life of me though, I can not think of anyone or read anything(other than this article) that opposing servicemen have any ill will against one another after all these years.

Oh its there. Watch the history channel long enough, and you'll catch some interviews with some vets who learned to forgive, and others who can't. I can recall two such programs. One was dealing with pearl harbor, another, i think Iwo Jima.

I know my late Father rarely talked about the war. He was in the RAF in WW2. In fact the little times he did speak about it he said he had respect for Luftwaffe aces like Adolph Galland and he and his West Indian buddy running for the bomb raid shelters and worryiong about the next day's cricket match. Strange bloke my dad.:yep:

I do respect Mr. Clark or anyone who had experienced the horrors of war. But I also agree in preserving the past which is quickly being forgotten amidst MTV and the latest emo trip young people seem to go through. In fact most survivors have past on and valuable information lost with their passing.

I think it's absolutely vital to keep these monuments/machines in good order for future generations to see. Of course having the monument is only part of the exhibit. Telling the stories of those that were there (on both sides) makes it educational. In the last three years I've seen the U-505, the Bowfin and the Missouri. I was awed by them all. I still can't believe that the Enterprise (CV-6) was not saved. Some day I'd like to see the Victory (does that make me anti-French?) Anyway, these pieces of history are our bridges to the past. Books can not do justice to the roar of a merlin engine or the vast size of the Missouri, which grabs someone on a more visceral level.

Now, if we could only have the Missouri fire her guns as part of the tour.....

long memory and hatred
 

I was reminded of an interview that I saw in which a woman was telling of her father, an Australian who was taken prisoner by the Japanese. He was badly mistreaded (as so many were) and came home with an intense hatred of the Japanese. Some of this started to rub off on his daughter (the woman being interviewed) who began hating the Japanese for what they had done to her father. She then said her father sat her down and told her "I have a reason to hate them. You don't. Let it go." He clearly didn't want the hate perpetuated. We just celebrated ANZAC day here, a celebration of a campaign that we lost. If there is any glorification of war it should be for the selfless sacrifice made by the millions of fighting men who went to war at the behest of their governments. I don't think the U-boats, or Lancasters or anything like that should be scrapped. We have a Jap sub at the Aust War Memorial in Canberra that was sunk in Sydney harbour.

It is no different than the numerous museums dedicated to the torturous devices of medieval Europe. Within these institutions are the exact object that were the cause of [arguably] far more grievous methods of demise than any submarine had ever inflicted, and yet no one ever claims the museums to be in the business of glorifying pogroms or inquisitions. This is simply another case of people viewing history through a very short-sighted lens.

Was about to point that out myself :up:

A museum is just a display of an historic piece. Nothing else. Political/personal valorations come later, and are mostly subjective.

I don't think a museum piece will make you a Hitler fan. If it does you were already on your way anyhow. Much like people people who complain about homosexual art themes. If you are worried it will make you gay, I'm sorry but you already are gay. A trip to a communist museum won't make me a socialist.

Liverpool lost lots of shipping/men to U-Boats, maybe it strikes a nerve to older people having a U-Boat there, just the same as having the Enola gay in Hiroshima might do?

I being younger would love to have a look around it and keep it for historic reasons, but can see why an 82 years veteran might not!


Simon

this history lesson
doesn't make any sense
in any less than
10,000 year increments

--Built to spill