Sapper, I really missed you during the holidays, as I'm sure many did here too. (I know you were seeing your friend off). And, whereas none of us "young guys" (I'm a baby-boomer) can ever replace the buddies you had, I can state for a fact that you have in this medium a new-found list of people who read you, who therefore respect, and thank, you. Sure, the internet is different and what is now had in 'quantity' will never make up for the "quality" of the friends you once had, there is some solace in greater numbers...as the saying goes.

Personally, I had a great time over the holiday period going over my dad's (Lt. Col. TH Carlisle, 22nd Armoured Regiment, RCA) maps of his route through Caen and Falaise and onwards towards Belgium. Just the contact with members of this board and another French board, I saw movies and photographs of the actual battlefields, found a new set of "friends" to correspond with - and looking at the photos, watching the movies and reading the correspondance brought me closer to my dad that any time in the past. He passed away in 1963, a long time ago when I was a boy still, and sure, it's not as if he were here, but the sharing of the information did me a lot of good and made him feel next to me. Now it's whole new world...

So, yes, these photos are "History". But how many of us have ever read the words and stories like yours of someone who was actually living History as it happened? Not many...how precious is that???

So - at the very least - I can thank you for that! I wish you well and hope to spend more time reading your words.

Charles Carlisle
Montreal

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