Sorry if this is a repeated post, but i have just returned to my PC after hearing a debate on the campaign for a memorial to the brave men of BOMBER COMMAND on BBC Radio 2. There was a chap on there who not only thought a BC (bomber command) memorial would be insulting to the german civillians that died during the BC missions, but would like to see memorials such as the cenotaph be replaced by more discreet ones that didnt celebrate the deaths during the wars................Im pretty sure i know ehich side of the fence you chaps sit on, and the bulk of the calls into the show were on the same side, but I feel ashamed that there are people out there who think like this, I dont know wether its a lack of education on the subject, or just one of these new generation type of people, but as i have miniscule amount of knowledge about BC and its missions, and more importantly the sacrifices the men made, I cannot get over how people like this chap cant seem to understand the fact that yes what they did (under orders i may add) were not nice and yes, many thousands of innocent people died as a result of the actions of BC, BUT these brave men were out there fighting and risking their lives, so that people like this chap can say things like this on the radio. Many callers and even the presenter pointed this out to the chap, but he just kept on going, even to the point of saying why couldnt the same amount of money put into Barnes Wallis's bouncing bomb, be put into bombing the tracks leading to the concentration camps..............Im sorry if i have ranted in the above post but i have a real passion for this subject, as i feel many of you will have, and i know everyone has a RIGHT to their opinion, but who do we have to thank for having that right................The brave men and women in all services that fought for their country during the the wars, and that includes the brave men of BOMBER COMMAND. I for one try to educate my young son as to what happened and why, and the sacrifices people made, so that people like us can live the lives we lead today......wether it be 60 years ago or 1060 years ago!

Ranting is ok. We're all with you here!

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David

"It is history that teaches us to hope"
Robert E. Lee

Steve................

RANT ON!!!!

Well said my friend!!

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This is a pair of Dutch resistance crystal radios, built into a small metal can, and a matchbox. The image is from a postcard bought at a Dutch Resistance Museum in Amsterdam. The matchbox is marked in Swedish, but Swedish matches were sold in Holland for many years..
Scott

If i could have got through to the show, i would have said exaclty the same thing on AIR!!!!

That would have been great!!

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This is a pair of Dutch resistance crystal radios, built into a small metal can, and a matchbox. The image is from a postcard bought at a Dutch Resistance Museum in Amsterdam. The matchbox is marked in Swedish, but Swedish matches were sold in Holland for many years..
Scott

Steven, great rant! I agree and wish that someone like him had not got so much air time!

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Regards, Michelle

Oliver Goldsmith, "I love everything that's old: old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wines."

Steven - rant on. They deserve a memorial and a campaign medal. They did a nasty job, whether it worked or not is not the point. The bomber offensive consumed huge amounts of Britain's war making capacity in WWII. To pretend it never happened so as to avoid offending someone who actually might not be offended (Guido Knopp's Hitler's War, Germany's Liberation documentaries lay the blame for Germany's suffering firmly on Hitler and his henchmen's head) is disrespectful to the hundreds of thousands of people who did their bit.