大象传媒

This story is taken from an interview with Mr O鈥橲ullivan at the Dublin WW2 Commemoration, and has been added to the site with their permission. The authors fully understand the site's terms and conditions. The interviewer was Richard Crothers, and the transcription was by Bruce Logan.
====

O鈥橲ullivan is my name, and I came here [to the Dublin WW2 commemoration] because I saw some people getting killed in the war. And I remember them every yr. that鈥檚 the main reason. Plus, this being the 60th anniversary of the end of the war.
[I鈥檓 from] Crumlin in Dublin.
Good times in the war?

I had plenty of friends. The best friend I ever had was a man working in the dockyard in Devonport. His home was a second home to me. Unfortunately he鈥檚 dead now. He died in 1982-3, I鈥檓 not sure which. But his wife and all, his family, if I didn鈥檛 go when I was off-duty they鈥檇 want to know why.
He worked in the dockyard, and he was a terrific man for the drink. There was a friend of ours down from Ireland, from down in corm 鈥� I鈥檓 originally from cork. And the man who run the pub, he was from West Cork, and he was ex-Navy. He had been in the navy, chief gunner鈥檚 mate in the First World War. But anyway, he had a pub when he came out. And we used to go in there, and this friend of mine used to do barman for them. I鈥檇 have to go out to his home 鈥� whenever I was off, it didn鈥檛 matter when it was.

[the war ended] 8th May, in Europe. I felt v sad on that end day for all the people that got killed all over Europe. I thought to myself 鈥渨hat an awful waste of life鈥�. And at the same time, I was alive myself.
A waste of life? But at the same time, looking back at it now, Europe is much better off because of that war. But on VE day 鈥� and the Japanese war was still going on 鈥� naturally we were expecting to be sent out there. But I didn鈥檛 get sent out there because it finished before I was sent out. If I was going to be sent out. But to me it was sad. But they were all around, in Trafalgar square and all that kind of thing. It was sad to think of all the people who were killed, unnecessarily. But at the time, when you think of the jews put into it. And what happened to the jews. You couldn鈥檛 let it go on, let Hitler go on. He had to be stopped.
Although we didn鈥檛 know that at the time. It鈥檚 looking back on it now, it had to be stopped. They鈥檇 have ruined the whole world. He would have come over here as well, who knows what would have happened. The people here would have been slaves to him.

It鈥檚 not mourning, because I鈥檓 glad to see the way Europe鈥檚 prospered since. Although you didn鈥檛 see it, you couldn鈥檛 see it properly, you didn鈥檛 realise on VE day that it was going to prosper. But looking back on it now. This is a celebration. And also thanksgiving for your own life. But at the same time there鈥檚 sadness in it for the people that died, unfortunately. It鈥檚 really praying for them would be my idea today.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.