NOT A Celebrity per se but read this - A GREAT MAN -- The Last of the Dam Busters lets all say words to honor him! (1 Viewer)

[RobertMG]

John Nichol
@JohnNicholRAF
·
13h

Very sad to learn that the "Last Dambuster", Sqn Ldr Johnny Johnson, has died aged 101. His WW2 generation sacrificed so much, yet asked nothing in return. I was privileged to share many a bottle of his much-loved red wine. The nation has lost a true hero. Blue skies Sir.

 

[Keith Cobby]

An audacious and extraordinary achievement. R.I.P. Johnny, you and your comrades will never be forgotten.

 

[RobertMG]

John Nichol
@JohnNicholRAF
·
13h

Very sad to learn that the "Last Dambuster", Sqn Ldr Johnny Johnson, has died aged 101. His WW2 generation sacrificed so much, yet asked nothing in return. I was privileged to share many a bottle of his much-loved red wine. The nation has lost a true hero. Blue skies Sir.

They were true leaders ---- and he was sadly the last of them -

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

A final salute to the last of the Dambusters. May peace and comfort be with you in the afterlife.

 

[RobertMG]

A final salute to the last of the Dambusters. May peace and comfort be with you in the afterlife.

Spot on! They were indeed the GREATEST generation!

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Spot on! They were indeed the GREATEST generation!

You can't repay them for what they did for the world. I lived next door to a WWII vet for several years. A true gentleman. Always so respectful, caring, and kind. He treated my wife, then girlfriend, like a princess. We would have a drink on occasion in the pub around the corner from where we lived. He never wanted my girlfriend to see him in the pub and did not want me to tell her we would have a drink there at times. He would cut firewood and tend to our garden for us even though we kept telling not to do that. Just a wonderful man. Each day he would take a walk to the WWII memorial in the town and sit on the bench there. This was where he passed. He was found slumped on the bench in front of the memorial. My wife cried for days.

He truly believed we fought that war so we would never have to fight one again. He was a great man.

 

[RobertMG]

You can't repay them for what they did for the world. I lived next door to a WWII vet for several years. A true gentleman. Always so respectful, caring, and kind. He treated my wife, then girlfriend, like a princess. We would have a drink on occasion in the pub around the corner from where we lived. He never wanted my girlfriend to see him in the pub and did not want me to tell her we would have a drink there at times. He would cut firewood and tend to our garden for us even though we kept telling not to do that. Just a wonderful man. Each day he would take a walk to the WWII memorial in the town and sit on the bench there. This was where he passed. He was found slumped on the bench in front of the memorial. My wife cried for days.

He truly believed we fought that war so we would never have to fight one again. He was a great man.

There is a film there in his story you and your wife were blessed to know him - he was a special bloke! We had a dear friend Tony Napolitano he passed in 2001 - he lied about his age and joined the fight at 16 years old - he served in England and met his future wife there after the war he came home settled here on LI with her - they were family to us spending many Christmas Eves with us she passed in 2007, this time of year is hard on me I cry for them --- my illness doesn't help I wish they were here. I have been visited by them as spirits - I do believe they know our pain and try to ease it

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

There is a film there in his story you and your wife were blessed to know him - he was a special bloke! We had a dear friend Tony Napolitano he passed in 2001 - he lied about his age and joined the fight at 16 years old - he served in England and met his future wife there after the war he came home settled here on LI with her - they were family to us spending many Christmas Eves with us she passed in 2007, this time of year is hard on me I cry for them --- my illness doesn't help I wish they were here. I have been visited by them as spirits - I do believe they know our pain and try to ease it

I did at one point set out to make a documentary about a man and his experiences in a concentration camp. My wife's school hosts a diversity day each year to help all of the kids understand the experiences of others. One of the speakers each year was a Jewish concentration camp survivor. He would tell the stories of his experiences there, which were horrific, but some of them blew me away. Being quite old everyone knew he only had so much time left, so my wife, who loved the man, asked if I might consider making a documentary about him and his experiences. One story really hooked me, which was about a Jewish composer that was in the camp. The commanders in the camp would make those who had the talent perform for them. There were several talented musicians in the camp along with the composer. The composer, obviously disgusted with the situation, composed a song that they could perform for their captors that secretly made fun of them. They did perform it for them. Had it been discovered what they had done, they likely would have paid with their lives and died in some gruesome ways to heighten their suffering. They all died anyway but at least had the opportunity, through music, to openly say how they felt about the people killing them.

There was both a beauty and sadness to that I could never get out of my head. These people, knowing they all faced death, stood up and made an open statement about what was happening. So, at the very least, when they died, they had the dignity of knowing they had done that.

I set about making the documentary but sadly the man that was to be the key to it, fell into ill health and passed in the early stages of my research. It was going to be a very difficult project because I wanted to track down this song if at all possible and it was a major task.

The man that was my neighbor did not like telling the stories of what he saw. He was of Polish descent and was present at the liberation of one of the camps. He spoke of the horrors and would say "In that situation all the worst instincts of mankind are exposed and laid bare. It is hard to look at or think about that madness without it changing anyone exposed to it."

I think he feared exposing the world to that ugliness.

My father's father fought in WWII as well. Sadly, I never had the chance to meet him. He died just days after I was born. One of the last things he did was to ride his horse through town handing out cigars and telling people my father had named me after him.

We are so far removed from WWII that I think the lessons the people learned going though it are forgotten. If you were lucky enough to know a person that fought in that war, the perspective they had on the world and life was something you could not place a value on. I am glad to have known people that could tell me of their firsthand experiences.

All wars fought after that war, I can say they believed were folly. And now a war is being waged again in the European theater. How sad and stupid they would have found that.

 

[RobertMG]

I did at one point set out to make a documentary about a man and his experiences in a concentration camp. My wife's school hosts a diversity day each year to help all of the kids understand the experiences of others. One of the speakers each year was a Jewish concentration camp survivor. He would tell the stories of his experiences there, which were horrific, but some of them blew me away. Being quite old everyone knew he only had so much time left, so my wife, who loved the man, asked if I might consider making a documentary about him and his experiences. One story really hooked me, which was about a Jewish composer that was in the camp. The commanders in the camp would make those who had the talent perform for them. There were several talented musicians in the camp along with the composer. The composer, obviously disgusted with the situation, composed a song that they could perform for their captors that secretly made fun of them. They did perform it for them. Had it been discovered what they had done, they likely would have paid with their lives and died in some gruesome ways to heighten their suffering. They all died anyway but at least had the opportunity, through music, to openly say how they felt about the people killing them.

There was both a beauty and sadness to that I could never get out of my head. These people, knowing they all faced death, stood up and made an open statement about what was happening. So, at the very least, when they died, they had the dignity of knowing they had done that.

I set about making the documentary but sadly the man that was to be the key to it, fell into ill health and passed in the early stages of my research. It was going to be a very difficult project because I wanted to track down this song if at all possible and it was a major task.

The man that was my neighbor did not like telling the stories of what he saw. He was of Polish descent and was present at the liberation of one of the camps. He spoke of the horrors and would say "In that situation all the worst instincts of mankind are exposed and laid bare. It is hard to look at or think about that madness without it changing anyone exposed to it."

I think he feared exposing the world to that ugliness.

My father's father fought in WWII as well. Sadly, I never had the chance to meet him. He died just days after I was born. One of the last things he did was to ride his horse through town handing out cigars and telling people my father had named me after him.

We are so far removed from WWII that I think the lessons the people learned going though it are forgotten. If you were lucky enough to know a person that fought in that war, the perspective they had on the world and life was something you could not place a value on. I am glad to have known people that could tell me of their firsthand experiences.

All wars fought after that war, I can say they believed were folly. And now a war is being waged again in the European theater. How sad and stupid they would have found that.

So sorry you never got to meet your Dad - sounds like though your Mom raised a GREAT son and a GREAT man!

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Thanks, Robert that is very kind. I did thankfully know my father and spent many years with him. He was an outstanding man, I think because he was raised by a great father. It was his father, my grandfather, that I never met. A regret in my life but his death was three days after my birth.

Nice to hear that the spirts of those you have cared about remain with you. I think this is a gift.