Comrades-in-arms! Happy holidays and pray that there will be no war on the earth and no warriors in the world!
After thinking about it, I might as well open a single chapter and write something on this day.
My grandfather was a veteran of the Korean War, and my father-in-law was a Vietnam War veteran. I also served as a soldier for two years because I couldn't read. Most of the people in my family who couldn't go to college have also been in the military camp. So every time I see those books and movies that glorify war, it's really shocking.
It's a mixture of emotions.
This is where my doubts about mainstream voices and values actually started.
When I was a child, school education and social values seemed that war was so sacred and soldiers were so glorious. But in fact, my grandfather and father-in-law, who had really been on the battlefield, had different attitudes towards war and memories of the battlefield. They were different from the mainstream
The sound is so different, so out of place.
Grandpa is a bit far away from me. When I became an adult, he had already passed away. He was only a memory of my childhood. My mother and uncle did not seem to remember those glorious years in that way. Recalling those glorious years!
Even somewhat evasive.
After retiring from the army, he was assigned to the Wuhan Steel Plant, but later, despite everyone's doubts and pressure, he took his grandmother back to his hometown deep in Longshan, Hunan.
Until now, my grandpa has been gone for more than twenty years, and my grandma also passed away a few years ago, but my uncles still express blame in their daily conversations.
Even my grandfather’s sister who stayed in Wuhan did not come back to see my grandfather until he passed away.
It was not until later that I learned what war syndrome is.
About that war, my grandfather never mentioned it to anyone, never mentioned it to his children, or even talked about it with anyone. To this day, my mother and uncles have basically zero knowledge of that war.
It wasn’t until later that I met my father-in-law.
My father-in-law never talked about the war with us, not even when he got together with his comrades.
Drink, chat, talk about who is unable to move due to injury, who is unable to move, or even who has passed away.
Indifferent and calm, but never talk about what happened that year.
Even when I asked out of curiosity, they all avoided answering, as if the past was something they couldn’t bear to look back on.
A few years ago, I didn’t understand why this was the case, but over the years, I understand them more and more.
War! Never worth remembering!
I suddenly felt something, and I wrote a lot. If there is any violation, please edit it and delete it yourself.
Tonight, at the comrades-in-arms gathering, don’t leave the table until you’re drunk, and don’t go home until you’re drunk! I hope all veterans will refrain from drunk driving after gatherings!