November 20th: Rose Gentle
I've said it before, America does incredible memorials.
On special occasions e.g. veterans day (or as we call it remembrance day), American flags are often placed every 20-25 feet around the perimeter of major company buildings lest they forget. It would seem that Patriotism is still very much alive in the land of George Bush and naturally it is the same in the UK when we remember those who fell. However, some people now choose a white poppy as an alternative to the blood red.
I remember once going on a pilgrimage to find the grave of Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, the Canadian responsible for that famous poem “In Flanders Fields the poppies blow between the crosses row on row”…those words knock me to my knees. I am anti-war but I am pro-human and there is always a consequence. John McCrea is one example. I found his grave in Boulogne and paid my respects.
For those who served, and for those who are currently serving their Country, I can't help but wonder if they think that we adequately express our gratitude to them? Especially when the Mother of one soldier, Rose Gentle, has had to fight every bit of the way to get her voice heard. Her son Gordon, was killed due to a lack of adequate equipment. That’s crass.
In the 21st Century, surely planning and decision making can be got right in terms of supplying Logistics to the Troops. Surely we can engage in dialog with Rose, get it all out in the open, yet, no, politicians wring their wrists and run a mile from the subject.
Rose, should be given the Nobel peace prize for her name alone. But she has done so much more.
The freedom we enjoy each day is a silent thank you. Yet it is unfortunate that it is silent on 364 days a year. The soldiers out there might understand casualties incurred if they felt they had the right tools to do their jobs and not just be part of an exercise in root cause analysis. Even then only after Rose forced enquiries through her determination and selfless love of her son.
It is too easy to get caught up in the events that frustrate and blame "just in time" systems and so on. This doesn't bring back Rose's petal Gordon.
We need to focus on ideas that inspire; not those that divide. I hope that we can all be inspired and united to get the troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq and back home. I don’t believe they should have been there in the first place.
