What is forgotten is those who today, continue to suffer from the Virus, and those grieving, many of those who have died are elderly people, who were alive during that period in 1945 and served or waited at home for their loved ones to return, or grieved for those who'd died or were missing as Prisoners of War, who were in uncertain times for them.
When I think of where my relations were in 1945, my Father was in Northern Italy, on his way with his unit to Austria, where he ended his war in 1946. My Uncle Danny, had just endured the Long March with thousands of other POW's from a Camp in Poland, when he was picked up by US troops advancing to meet up with the Russians. Another Uncle was on a RN Vessel in the Baltic. Another was in the Far East fighting the war against Japan. One aunt, was in the WRENS in Portsmouth providing communications to the Fleet in the far east.
So many individual stories shared, no longer because all have died. Jen my spouses Father was in the RAF as a Radar Technician, all of his brothers and sisters were in uniform in the Navy and RAF. My Maternal grandfather having fought in WW1, was in the Emergency Fire Service. My mother worked in munitions, as a what was described on her wedding certificate as a Machine Operator. She had a wartime baby, my half-brother Tony, who died two years ago, and we had never met as he was raised by his grand parents.
So much happened in families during that war, that I find it a bit rich to compare our current situation - apart from the unfortunate deaths of many of that generations in situations of care, where they should have been safe.
So, while others might be celebrating, I will be remembering all of those I have written about, who are now dead, and those who survived the war, and have died, more recently of the virus. They will all be in my prayers.

