Sunday, November 08, 2009

Remembering the agony of the families

As I sit in my cosy house, surrounded by my small but happy family, I feel so much for those families of members of the Armed Forces who have lost their lives in the course of their duties.

There are partners and children living every day with the reality of the sacrifice that their loved ones have made. Some children will have no memory of their fallen parent. Others will have had to deal with the shock waves of losing one of the most important people to them and its effect on their family.

I know I simply would not be able to cope with the life that service families have to lead. I couldn't handle the separations and constant anxiety if a member of my family were in a war zone. I would fall to bits if ever the phone or doorbell rang.

I'm thinking today of all of those families, particularly those who are still coming to terms with losing a child, or a partner, a sibling or a parent. Remembrance Sunday will be a poignant landmark in their grieving and they deserve the empathy an support of the entire country. They will never forget, and nor should we.

1 comment:

Clair said...

I always find myself crying on Remembrance Sunday, I find it so sad and moving. I can only imagine how hard it is to have a close family member serve. One of my childhood friends serves in the RAF and has had a number of tours in Iraq and Afghanistan (he assures me he is "in the rear with the gear" but still....). I have that heartstopping moment everytime I hear of another death and then feel awful when I get the relief it wasn't him. How wives and mothers (and husbands and fathers) do it I will never know. They are the unsung heroes. My children don't really understand yet, they just know that they wear their poppies for the brave men and ladies.


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