Check It Out: Old soldier and young soldier talk about their battles

The woman answered the door and a policeman asked how many people are in her house. When she replied “six”, he asked if he could come inside and check. The woman said, “No cause then there would be seven.”

Although this year’s Remembrance Day ceremonies may be carried out in a slightly different manner due to regulations, the degree of honour will not have diminished in any way.

Communities should be commended for continuing to honour Remembrance Day with suitable ceremonies, but how are all the younger soldiers acknowledged? Recently I listened to a segment of two veterans conversing. What made the conversation interesting was the fact the two individuals were from different generations.

John, a 95-year-old WWII war veteran, and Nicholis, a 34-year-old army veteran, answered questions which had been submitted by the public. John was the first to speak.

“I was in the Second World War. There were twelve of us. We took part in the North African campaign, and later went on to the invasion of Sicily. I was away for two years. In that day it was a different war. Some lads went to North Africa and never got home until way after D Day. It’s frightening to see what’s happening in these modern wars. You’re fighting an enemy and you don’t know who they are. As long as we were going forward, we were going the right way,” John said about WWII. “I wouldn’t have liked to fight in modern wars.”

Thirty-four-year old Nicholis agreed saying, “You go from one war to another through the generations. I wouldn’t have liked to fight in your war; in my eyes being in a ship wasn’t safe,” he said to John, and he continued to share his story.

“We deployed to Belize for six weeks training in the jungle, then deployed to Iraq in 2006. After that we were deployed to Kosovo, then were deployed to Afghanistan,” he explained.

The elderly gentleman looked at the young man with such compassion and said, “So you’ve been through quite a lot, son.” The young man nodded his head.

The next question asked what their feelings were towards the enemy. Nicholis replied, “I didn’t have any hate for them. I think it was one of the reasons I left the army, because I didn’t believe in it in the end. I felt like I was equal to them.”

John also answered the question. “We fought to win the war; that was bred into you. It took until 1970 until I could see my way clear. I don’t feel anything towards them now.”

The two men described being in the heat of the battle. John said, “Whenever you’re in imminent danger, planes come at you, you have to fight back. You had a shield, you look through the gap so to speak. It gave you a bit of feeling of comfort and safety,” he chuckled.

Nicholis described the battle, saying “Once you got into the fire fight, you never can tell what was going to happen but you knew it was going to be like a well oiled machine; everyone did what they were trained to do.”

The next question asked was how do you think soldiers are viewed in society. Nicholis replied, “It all depends how the media portrays them. After Iraq the media portrayed us as killers. In Afghanistan we were portrayed as heroes.”

John replied, “The war had lasted so long, everyone was glad to see the people back home. I think people said thank you to most of the soldiers, sailors and service men for getting their freedom. They were glad to see the war over.”

Nicholis described the modern day war zone, saying “When you’re in a war zone you have that constant stress of what’s next, what’s next. You’re on constant alert, on high alert. If one person looks at you, you’re ready to fight to save a life. So you come back home and somebody looks at you that way and you’re already in fight mode. It’s been 12 years and that’s still there.”

When asked if he ever lost a member of his company, all Nicholis said was, “We lost quite a lot of our regiment. I’ll leave it at that.”

As for injuries sustained, John said he had a back fracture, but nothing serious. Nicholis said he had a few sprains and a broken wrist, but added “The major one was mentally. As you know that’s a massive epidemic - mental health. For 13 years I suffered, really suffered. Now I’ve got my family, I’ve got to keep straight. A lot of soldiers are suffering.”

In response to the question, “Do you miss the forces?” John replied, “That’s a good question. I don’t think I missed it. I was away four and a half years. I was glad to get out.”

Nicholis answered, “A lot of lads say they miss the army and wish they could go back. It’s such a routine and it’s your life and you do that for years. I don’t miss it. I miss the comradery. I miss fire fights; I miss teaching it. But that’s a passion and you can replace any passion.”

As for regrets, John said, “No regrets really. I am proud I was a part of it. It took all my youth, but if I hadn’t been there I would have missed quite a lot.”

Nicholis agreed saying, “I don’t think I regret it because of what I gained from it.”

The two soldiers were asked if they wanted to tell their stories? John thought telling his story might help the younger generation. “They don’t know about my war, they don’t know about your war. People hear and realize it’s part of history I would think.”

Nicholis responded, “I suffered; I went into a dark place for ten years. But since I left, I started a new project and I’ve been talking about my career, my story, my mental health. It’s helping me, helping me talk about it, my struggle. Anytime someone mentioned the military I would walk away; I’m still like that way a bit now. More importantly I do it to help others. Guys who haven’t left the house in two weeks, wouldn’t answer the phone, come across my story, listen to my story, say that’s worse than me, and stand up and walk out the front door and they give it a go. If you save one it’s worth it,” he concluded.

John looked at the young man with eyes brimming with understanding and said, “I wouldn’t have known your story if I wouldn’t have listened to you. I’ve learned a lot from you.”

They shook hands, connecting beyond physical touch. They understood each other in ways that civilians never could. They bestowed honour on one another, not only on Remembrance Day, but every day.