In “My Grandad’s Army Experiences” By Poppy-Anne Elcock, the story of Elcock’s grandfather Peter Elliott’s experiences in the army is told.
Elliott joined the Junior Leader’s Royal Corps of Transport Regiment in Summerset at the age of 16 in June 1977.
He spent a year training as a soldier and obtained his drivers license then shortly after his 18th birthday, he joined the 47 Air Dispatchers Squadron at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire.
According to Elcock’s article, the squadron’s role was to resupply by airdropping weapons, aircraft, and relief/aid troops to other countries worldwide.
Elliott worked in the army for 22 years, and still continues to be a part of RAF Brize Norton as a civil ser at 63 years old. He currently handles the transportation side, such as driving specialized vehicles and refueling.
In Elcock’s article, her paragraph about Nepal up in the Himalayas for Operation Khana Cascade 80 was very powerful.
Elliott stated his trip to Nepal was his favorite because he said he was “knowing I was able to help those people in need.” This shows Elliott is a good person who cares about others. Tells us as an audience about his character and his values.
The article goes on to explain the locals also helped them and worked incredibly hard even though they were only paid roughly £1 a day. Elliott said he remembers them as being “incredibly funny and such happy people, even when they did not have a penny to their name.”
This is another example of Elcock’s article showing others character, telling us these people really want to help.
Elcock’s article says “Elliott likes to say his small claim to fame is ‘I had the chance to fly with the Battle of Britain Spitfire flown in World War 2 across the Atlantic Ocean.’”
Then explaining that for this to happen, the plane had to be stripped down for the first time ever, and a custom cradle was built. Then to ship it, it was put into the back of a Hercules transport airplane to Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas.
This and the display of the spitfire in the air was filmed by a TV crew in the UK. Elcock then continues to attach a hyper link to a short documentary called Spitfire: Lincolnshire to Las Vegas.
Elcock did a great job telling her grandfather’s story and letting us readers get to know him. Elliott seems like a great loving person who Elcock is very proud of.
In “The Story of a Boy Stuck in War” By Taha Asadi, the story of T. Asadi’s Father Jahangir Asadi being stuck in war is told.
In this article T. Asadi explains that when his father was only 12, his country went to war. Not only did he live in war, but his father was serving in the front lines.
This put a lot of stress on his family about loosing their homes, loved ones, land, and more. When telling his story J. Asadi said “The worst period of my life was during war.”
T. Asadi goes on to explain how his father was now tasked with taking care of all four of the women in their household while his dad was away at war.
He was 12 years old, taking care of young girls and his mom, scared for his life, scared his dad won’t be coming home, scared for his home, his friends, his family, and everything else in his world.
He said “Every day there would be bodies of soldiers who were returned, and I always feared that the next one would be my father. I had to live with that anxiety for my entire teenager years and a part of that anxiety is still with me today.”
He was robbed of a childhood and will never be able to get that part of his life. That changes some ones whole life.
J. Asadi goes on to explain how his childhood was so different than others around the world and how much that impacted his life.
He said “While teenagers in the rest of the world were busy going to the movies on the weekends and the concerts of their favorite singers. My family and I were taking refuge in a bunker, praying that the next Iraqi missile doesn’t hit us.”
He said that while war had many negative effects on his life, it also helped him in the future, saying “Although war was unfortunate, it gave me tough skin. It truly helped me deal with many other obstacles that I faced in the future.”
At the end of this article, J. Asadi was asked what advice he would give to youth now.
He said “I would tell youth to not be afraid of hardship and failure. When you fear failure, you are making it stronger and creating a monster out of it. There’s a higher chance of success for you if you are fearless in everything that you are doing in life.”
In “Elder Interview: 4 Generations Behind” by Zubtsova, the story of their great grandmother Tamilla struggling to survive in Ukraine is told. Zubtsova explains that their great grandmother is an amazing story teller. While all of her stories are interesting, Zubtsova said “there is one life event of hers that stuck with me.”
Zubtsova explains how Tamilla had a tough start to life. Living in Ukraine at a time of corruption and growing conflicts, she had barely enough money to survive, pay for food, and pay bills. This is tough on a child and will always be a memory for her.
Some of my family had the same experience growing up of poverty and barely making it by. It’s scary and traumatic, but it has taught me from a young age how grateful I should be to live in a house and not be worried about how I will pay for my next meal.
The article explains that later in life, Tamilla got married to a man who served in the military. This meant she was constantly moving around and she said she was used to packing her bags.
Having a loved one in the military is hard, but when WWII broke out, it became scary.
There was bombing and civilians being shot in plain sight. All of Ukraine’s men were sent to the front lines to defend their country, but unfortunately for their army they weren’t as strong as the other countries, leaving it as a battle ground, creating a devastated place in Europe.
Tamilla’s mother was left taking care of her three kids in a basement hiding from the bombings. They were forced to live off of potato skins, and sometimes they could use the skins as fish bait.
Schools and stores were shut down and torn apart leaving less shelter and harder access to necessities.
Zubtsova explains “Living through a war can be tough for anyone, and it is one of the worst things someone can experience. From that event, my great grandma definitely learned great survival skills and knows how to tell a story.”
Citations:
“My Grandad’s Army Experiences”
Junior Leader’s Royal Corps of Transport Regiment Logos
Spitfire: Lincolnshire to Las Vegas
Spitfire: Lincoln to Las Vegas Documentary Poster
“The Story of a Boy Stuck in War”
Soldier on the front lines of the Iran-Iraq war
Soldiers fighting in the Iran-Iraq war
Small explosion during Iran-Iraq war
“Elder Interview: 4 Generations Behind”
Children collect frozen potatoes in a collective farm’s field during the Ukrainian famine.