You have my thoughts with you, Silly Moustache. I have read a great deal about World War I and how the ravages of that war took away so many of the England's very best men. I have been reading a book based on Alan Brooke's diary and he has commented about how the first World War took away so many of their very best officers so that finding the right leadership in World War II was an ongoing challenge.
Really, after the ravages of World War I, it's a miracle that England survived World War II.
My father's father fought in France with US forces during World War I. Both my parents were World War II veterans, my father a weatherman for the US Army Air Corps, my mother a nurse with the Army Nursing Corps.
These wars were so huge, their tentacles reached into just about all of our lives, some much more tragically than others. My parents were very fortunate, but my mother's experience as a nurse colored both of my parents' attitudes about war for the rest of their lives.
One estimate I remember is that about 20 million people lost their lives in World War I, about 75-80 million people perished in World War II. It's overwhelming to think about.
- Glenn
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