As has been the theme lately, I
would like to take a moment to digress from my normal blogs, talking about past
events and relating them to the present, and talk about a project that I am
doing that does just that. With the theme of war running throughout our class
and literature, I have been tasked with documenting a war story, and its
impact. For this, I decided to delve deep into my family’s own past to see what
I can uncover.
After talking to my parents, I
found that that we have had members of the family receive military awards such
as the Mir Var Chackra (from the Indian Armed Forces), along with
other branches of service. To learn more, I decided to interview my uncle
Ramesh, who was a pilot for the Indian Air Force (IAF). Throughout the
interview, I not only asked questions about his own service, but about the
families perception on other family members that have served.
While a lot of the stories that I was told
contain sensitive information about my family, I can share some thoughts of my
uncle, on our family’s involvement militarily, or lack there of. With the way
that our family is structured, we have never traditionally in positions of
service. As a result, I have never heard, or learned much about military
involvement, until I began this project.
As I asked more and more family members about the subject, it was becoming clear that there was a deeper reason, for the story not being shared. I decided to do my own investigation of the history of my family, as well as his family line. On the subject of family line, my family does have a tradition of military training. Many of Ramesh's cousins have entered the military, along with his father. This does establish the tradition of military service, but it does not explain why they will not talk about it.
Even though members of my family does respect and honor those who have served their country, it is apparent that some issues on the matter are better left at rest. Just as we must respect those who have served, we must do the same with those who have fallen.
As I asked more and more family members about the subject, it was becoming clear that there was a deeper reason, for the story not being shared. I decided to do my own investigation of the history of my family, as well as his family line. On the subject of family line, my family does have a tradition of military training. Many of Ramesh's cousins have entered the military, along with his father. This does establish the tradition of military service, but it does not explain why they will not talk about it.
Even though members of my family does respect and honor those who have served their country, it is apparent that some issues on the matter are better left at rest. Just as we must respect those who have served, we must do the same with those who have fallen.
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