Reply To: TRWR: The cost of war
Jane and Susan, thank you for sharing a bit about your fathers’ experiences. They emphasize just how many of their generation were affected by war and how many families too. I know many were not encouraged to talk about their experiences with others, or their experiences were too painful and personal to want to do so. I know that the clubs and legions that sprung up after the war helped many men find some solace through friendships. My mother would often visit the legions (sometimes with me in tow) to share a drink with them. Being Dutch, she had a lifelong appreciation and respect for Canadian soldiers because of their part in the liberation of Holland when she was a young girl. As a child, I also knew a few of the men who fought in WWII, and they were strong, quiet men. I did not know their personal stories, but I grew up with them as neighbours, much like Scott did in Jewel.
In this book nearly all the men appear to have been scarred by the war. I don’t have much to add to what you all have written. I was struck deeply by the two women most affected by the war, namely Marta and Kyoko. Kyoko losing her family to the atom bomb and being affected by the radiation herself and Marta losing her family in Germany. They are women whose “home fronts” were those of the enemy, and they paid an almost unimaginable price.
I don’t think things have changed for those who fight in wars in terms of the violence and trauma they experience. If anything, modern warfare brings a new set of horrors. But I think there is more awareness of PTSD and more support systems to help them process their experiences (how much, I can’t say, as I don’t know).
