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This isn’t really a war story as such, as it happened only last year in 2004, but it is a story that I’ll remember forever all the same.

I had laid a wreath in remembrance of the Normandy soldiers in Canterbury Cathedral on the 6th of June. Two days later I was asked to repeat the service so that photographers could take pictures of the event. I agreed and went along and repeated the service. Afterwards I saw a man in a wheelchair who had clearly been severely disabled from birth, and he asked if he could shake my hand. He only had one, the other arm ending in a stump, so I lent forward and took his hand in mine. As I did so he kissed it, looked up at me and said ‘I thank you for winning the war’. I wondered for a moment exactly what he meant, but then he continued, saying ‘You’ve given me a life that I would never have had. I am German’. I cried and cried afterwards, and sometimes even now, a year later, I remember that moment and cry once more. To think that our actions not only secured our future, but also the lives of so many innocent people in other countries and even Germany itself, where this poor and wholly innocent man who had such a strong spirit would have no doubt been killed at birth for his disability. It showed me that there is good and bad in all races. It was an extremely touching moment that I shall never forget.

This story was submitted to the People’s War site by James Barton and has been added to the website on behalf of Pam Bridges with his/her permission and they fully understand the site’s terms and conditions.

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