Eternal people look forward to serving on the anniversary monument With the event returning to its original scale after the pandemic, this year is even more sad.
An Afghan veteran told the Palestinian Authority News Agency that they marched in the center London After Covid limited the number of veterans and troops last year, the war memorial once again “means the absolute world”.
David Atkin said: “For me to lose friends in Afghanistan, this is such a painful time of the year. It gives me the opportunity to truly remember their memories and all the good times we spent.
“This year may be even more sad because I know a lot of people, especially those from the Royal Air Force Regimental Association. They should have marched there last year, but they are no longer with us, so they cannot march this year, so we are also Do this for them.”
The 32-year-old man from Ruislip served as a senior pilot in the Royal Air Force Regiment and attended the ceremony for five years before 2020.
Last year, Mr. Atkin laid a wreath at the Royal Air Force Memorial to commemorate him. embankment But it is “weird” to say that he is not in front of the monument.
Mr. Atkin joined the Royal Air Force Regiment in 2008 when he was only 19 years old.
He was sent to Afghanistan as a machine gunner in 2010, but six weeks later he suffered a spine fracture in a road traffic accident and his military career was interrupted.
Since then, he has been suffering from chronic pain, taking high doses of painkillers every day to numb the pain. He has undergone six surgeries and is still waiting for two more surgeries.
“Since the accident, I have been in pain every day, so it’s hard to forget what happened,” he said.
But this did not stop him from participating in the memorial parade.
He said: “This is a difficult thing, but I am doing it for my friends because they have not come back.
“So even if I am in pain, I am still here, and I must continue to do what I am doing for them, because I can but they can’t.”
When asked if it is important Queen The former soldier who had missed several events due to the doctor’s order of rest attended the ceremony. The former soldier replied: “Yes, I do; she is obviously the head of our armed forces, so it’s always great to see her attending. .”
Stefan Godfree, 51, has served in the Royal Artillery for 17 years, and he welcomes the return to normal after the coronavirus-related restrictions last year.
He said: “Many people are upset about the reduction last year, but we understand why.
“The strange thing is that because the monument incident was downplayed, there was no massive loss as usual.”
Mr. Godfrey also said that this year’s event will mean more, because 30 years have passed since the first Gulf War he participated in.
He said: “I lost my colleagues there and I will focus my attention on them this day.
“This year will also be more personal, because I have been studying my family tree, and several people died in the war.
“This parade will bring all of this together. It allows us to understand how small the world is and how generations of people have been linked and affected by conflict.”
this Royal Regiment This year also celebrates its centennial birthday, marking the 100th anniversary since the country’s collective commemorative traditions were first brought together.
