Jim Radford shares his thoughts and sings "The Shores of Normandy" at a Veterans For Peace UK event in Los Angeles sponsored by Veterans For Peace LA, March Forward and Answer LA.
I love a man that thinks for himself.A man that speaks out when he sees something he disagrees with . I wish Sir there were more like you . I am not American I am Scottish.
Good man Jim Radford ! It is when men reflect on their time in war,as you have done,that they wonder why it happened at all. My father,a boy of 17, from Penncloud in South Wales, was a dispatch rider following the landing on the french shores. When I was 37, I dared to ask him: "Dad what did you do during the war?" For the first time be opened up and began to tell me that he had been a dispatch rider,and that one day he had riden his bike across the line and found himself face to face with a group of German soldiers . Time,he said,seemed to be suspended as they stared at each other , then he turned his bike slowely around and rode away. At this point my father's eyes whelled up and he said tearfully : " I don't know why they did not shoot me but, the only thing I could think of was that they may have had sons my own age and could not bring themselves to shoot." He went on to say that he saw boys younger than himself killed,and then started to brush away the tears. At this point I withehld asking any more questions, for I could not bear to see his pain. I simply did not know how to comfort him ! Like so many of his generation,all those years ago, as a young lad he had lied about his age too to join the army, not knowing then that he would come to witness and experience the horrors of war.
There are two videos here: www.normandymemorialtrust.org/shores-of-normandy-single/ One is of Jim Radford singing 'The Shores of Normandy' (with orchestral backing) in a version that can be downloaded - a fundraising effort by the Normandy Memorial Trust for the 75th D-Day anniversary. The second video is an interview with Jim Radford explaining how he came to write the song and why remembering those who fell in the Normandy invasion is important - not to glorify war but to remember that we mustn't do it again. Both worth watching.
He could have just left it that England had a lot to be ashamed of and left America out of the equation. The guys who went to Vietnam were just following orders. Many of them did not approve either but they had to do what they were ordered to do. The main reason they were there as long as they were was because LBJ's wife owned the major stock in Bell Helicopter and he wanted the Military to buy them up so her stocks would soar. That was one of the reasons JFK was killed. He wanted to pull out of the war and LBJ wanted to keep them there. It was no fault of our Military at all.
Zeda Ruhl Hi I think he is trying to say that we keep making the same mistakes please take time to look at this ruclips.net/video/r16NzM51q2Q/видео.html .
He didn't fault the military he pointed out our country's/ nations /governments....why should the UK be criticised but not the US? He mentions them being in cahoots, hardly think he was talking about our military alliances but more our people in power.
I was a young British soldier in the 60's and well remember hearing of our American brothers in arms wondering why the British army were not by their side, but little did anyone know that Britain was fighting its own war in the jungles of Borneo and Sarawak against an equally determined communist enemy lead by President Sukarno of Indonesia, where we were faced with enemy numbers in the region of 250,000 armed communist with a paltry force of less than 3,000 British soldiers. Sukarno lost and sued for peace. Amazing how its never mentioned or heard of! ( I was not in that theatre of war ).
Yeah should left the US out of it. Its not like they have only known about 20 years free of war in its entire history, or the literal millions of people that the US has bombed and killed just in the last 20 years. And I mean millions.
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I love a man that thinks for himself.A man that speaks out when he sees something he disagrees with . I wish Sir there were more like you . I am not American I am Scottish.
Very peaceful Thanks
Interesting insight and a stunning song to finish.
Every single word he said is painfully true...the key is 'in cahoots'... and why can we not dedicate as much energy to peace instead of war?
This man deservers a hell lot of respect he saved our lives in a way he was fighting in war
Amazing.
Proud to be an Englishman
beautiful voice
Good man Jim Radford !
It is when men reflect on their time in war,as you have done,that they wonder why it happened at all.
My father,a boy of 17, from Penncloud in South Wales, was a dispatch rider following the landing on the french shores. When I was 37, I dared to ask him: "Dad what did you do during the war?" For the first time be opened up and began to tell me that he had been a dispatch rider,and that one day he had riden his bike across the line and found himself face to face with a group of German soldiers . Time,he said,seemed to be suspended as they stared at each other , then he turned his bike slowely around and rode away. At this point my father's eyes whelled up and he said tearfully : " I don't know why they did not shoot me but, the only thing I could think of was that they may have had sons my own age and could not bring themselves to shoot." He went on to say that he saw boys younger than himself killed,and then started to brush away the tears. At this point I withehld asking any more questions, for I could not bear to see his pain. I simply did not know how to comfort him ! Like so many of his generation,all those years ago, as a young lad he had lied about his age too to join the army, not knowing then that he would come to witness and experience the horrors of war.
There are two videos here: www.normandymemorialtrust.org/shores-of-normandy-single/
One is of Jim Radford singing 'The Shores of Normandy' (with orchestral backing) in a version that can be downloaded - a fundraising effort by the Normandy Memorial Trust for the 75th D-Day anniversary. The second video is an interview with Jim Radford explaining how he came to write the song and why remembering those who fell in the Normandy invasion is important - not to glorify war but to remember that we mustn't do it again. Both worth watching.
He could have just left it that England had a lot to be ashamed of and left America out of the equation. The guys who went to Vietnam were just following orders. Many of them did not approve either but they had to do what they were ordered to do. The main reason they were there as long as they were was because LBJ's wife owned the major stock in Bell Helicopter and he wanted the Military to buy them up so her stocks would soar. That was one of the reasons JFK was killed. He wanted to pull out of the war and LBJ wanted to keep them there. It was no fault of our Military at all.
Zeda Ruhl Hi I think he is trying to say that we keep making the same mistakes please take time to look at this ruclips.net/video/r16NzM51q2Q/видео.html .
He didn't fault the military he pointed out our country's/ nations /governments....why should the UK be criticised but not the US? He mentions them being in cahoots, hardly think he was talking about our military alliances but more our people in power.
I was a young British soldier in the 60's and well remember hearing of our American brothers in arms wondering why the British army were not by their side, but little did anyone know that Britain was fighting its own war in the jungles of Borneo and Sarawak against an equally determined communist enemy lead by President Sukarno of Indonesia, where we were faced with enemy numbers in the region of 250,000 armed communist with a paltry force of less than 3,000 British soldiers. Sukarno lost and sued for peace. Amazing how its never mentioned or heard of! ( I was not in that theatre of war ).
Yeah should left the US out of it. Its not like they have only known about 20 years free of war in its entire history, or the literal millions of people that the US has bombed and killed just in the last 20 years. And I mean millions.