During WW2 my dad was an RAF Pathfinder. Like many, he rarely talked about those dark days: I suspect they made a deep impact on him and those around him. My great regret was not finding out more from him about what it was really like. It must have been so frightening. He died in 1987.
At heart, he was a simple man, who hated hurting anyone. I suspect he had deep sadness that innocent men, women and children were killed as a result of his actions. On one occasion he crash-landed in Kent on the way back from a night raid over Germany. In his heart he did not want to hurt a fly. This was wartime and things were so very different.
It is perhaps not surprising that so many who lived through WW2 never wanted to share these dark days. I guess it must have been strange to know that every flight had the very real danger of death, burning or capture. Looking back, I don't know how they did it again and again.
These days we are friends with people in Germany and WW2 seems a long time in the past. May peace continue. There is no place for hate in our world.
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