Chianti
I have listened to the second half of Tape 1 of my late father-in-law's memoirs. I feel sad and regretful. Sad for his passing, and regretful that I didn't show an interest in his memoirs while he was alive. I was too young and stupid to value the sacrifices that he and millions like him made for peace.
I love the tiny, vivid details he weaves into the bigger tapestry of military manoeuvres. I can see the chianti bottle he describes. He should have been a writer.
So far the recording has brought to light two coincidences. He camped with his battalion at Mena outside Cairo in December 1942, unaware that his mother had served there in the Australian Army Nursing Service in 1915, prior to embarking on a hospital ship bound for Gallipoli. (I have read her diary; my father in law never had the chance to study it in detail.)
However, he was aware of the second coincidence because he commented on it in the recording. The date 14th June became triply significant in his life: his mother's birthday; his own wedding day in 1947; and it was the date in 1942 when he was taken prisoner of war.
I love the tiny, vivid details he weaves into the bigger tapestry of military manoeuvres. I can see the chianti bottle he describes. He should have been a writer.
So far the recording has brought to light two coincidences. He camped with his battalion at Mena outside Cairo in December 1942, unaware that his mother had served there in the Australian Army Nursing Service in 1915, prior to embarking on a hospital ship bound for Gallipoli. (I have read her diary; my father in law never had the chance to study it in detail.)
However, he was aware of the second coincidence because he commented on it in the recording. The date 14th June became triply significant in his life: his mother's birthday; his own wedding day in 1947; and it was the date in 1942 when he was taken prisoner of war.
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