Remembering history

Maybe it was the same when I was a kid, though I really don't remember it being so, that remembering D-Day was such a politicized event. The act of remembering almost overshadowed by the rhetoric and jingoism of today’s political agendas, politicians and media commentators falling over themselves to lord the sacrifice of the Second World War generation, whilst conspiring to systematically dismantle and sell their legacy to the highest bidder. I despise it, it's an ugly spectacle. Even more so in our current political climate as we, and many more countries, flirt with the ideology that this wartime generation fought and died to thwart. I have deep respect for the elders of that generation, indeed my father was one of them (Burma), but little time for remembrance in its current weaponized form. Still, the gravity of the days history is not lost on me and I sought to recognize it, and them, through some ephemeral monuments left in the forest. The forest was heavily utilized throughout the war, and especially during the build up to D-Day, as a consequence over the years I've come across many examples of World War Two graffiti, with the majority of it being American graffiti...testament to the D-Day build up in the area. In Burley Old enclosure there are a cluster of pieces, there used to be more of them, although in recent years a couple have succumbed to time and the elements, whilst others I remember disappeared before I started to record them. I have no idea what units they represent nor how long they hung about, although one tree has 714th carved in it, and that was a American Tank Battalion... and parts of the enclosure show historic mauling by tracked vehicles. Anyway, that's all supposition. Today I visited a few of the remaining pieces to say hello and pay my respects, and one example in particular, carved in a veteran Beech beside a broad shallow ditched forestry track, it reads 'O.K.Reel, 1944, OC'. I've passed O.K.Reel frequently over the last 30 years and often wondered how he fared. I like to think Reel survived the war and went on to have a long a fulfilling life, maybe he's still going, I hope so. War looks shit.