lettertotheeditor
Reflecting on Knox County veterans memorialized in print
It was moving and a moment to reflect upon, seeing the farragutpress’ insertion of the servicemen’s names from Knox County who gave their all during the wars of the recent past. For one single county, Knox, from this country to amount to these numbers lost is both sickening and staggering.
I recognized some names and wondered if they were related to the present-day Farragut folks I’ve met since moving here. The World War I names reminded me of my grandfather who fought in the British artillery in the battles of the Somme, and also my father who was involved in World War II, in the Royal Signal Corps, then military intelligence, which evolved into M-I6 as one of the spy-catchers in England, France and Germany before finally ending up in Belgium.
There, for the grace of God, both my ancestors survived. If they had not, well, I wouldn’t be writing this,
As a child born a few years after WWII ended, my mother would take me on the bus to Bristol, where bombers and fighters were built at the Bristol Aircraft factories, from our village in the Cotswold’s where I was raised.
On the way to the city, from the bus windows we could see rows of houses blown apart; wallpaper still visible, along with sinks and bathtubs inside open, sagging front doors and exploded windows amid rubble where walls once stood.
I couldn’t understand how people could live in such places. I asked, “where are the children, why aren’t they playing?” My mother simply said, “they don’t live there anymore, they were bombed.”
If these fallen on the list of names are known by present day residents, I would like them, if reading this, to understand that the British and the French, along with other countries that were occupied, or were under threat, that to this day have a huge appreciation for the American men and women that came to that part of Europe during both world wars.
These recruits probably didn’t know anyone there back in the ‘old country,’ but they came with their rifles, tanks, ships and planes with the intent to win. The fortunate ones saw the vicious battles come to an end, but many lost their lives during these sickening conflicts called war.
I wonder how many of these lost men would have gone on to be fathers, grandfathers, maybe great-grandfathers. Now, we will all never know. Going to war is a necessary evil since the alternative is even more dire.
It is a good thing to not let this memory of these brave Knox County men be lost to time. No matter which war, I appreciate the farragutpress keeping the flame burning. We all need to be reminded who Memorial Day really is for.
George Ellis, Farragut
