Everyone eventually dies but sudden early death is a severe shock for the bereaved, more invasive when the body has not been located or recovered. The author has a lengthy interest in The Great War and provides a unique appraisal of an often neglected consequence of the conflict. – Most Highly Recommended.
NAME: Missing, The Need for Closure after the Great War FILE: R3103 AUTHOR: Richard van Emden PUBLISHER: Pen and Sword BINDING: hard back PRICE: £20.00 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: WWI, World War I, World War 1, World War One, First World War, The Great War, casualties, bereavement, war dead, missing in action, trench warfare, war graves
ISBN: 1-52676-096-7
PAGES: 292 IMAGE: B3103.jpg BUYNOW: tinyurl.com/t2pxsrv DESCRIPTION: Everyone eventually dies but sudden early death is a severe shock for the bereaved, more invasive when the body has not been located or recovered. The author has a lengthy interest in The Great War and provides a unique appraisal of an often neglected consequence of the conflict. – Most Highly Recommended. The Great War was the first industrialized war and ushered in a large number of completely new threats to the protagonists. Between 1914 and 1918 it raged across the globe, on and under the oceans, on land and in the air. In the process it also involved civilians of all ages in an intensity that had never before been experienced. Submarines and surface ships sank with most, or all, hands, or caught fire and exploded with enormous loss of life. In the air, fire was the real threat after bullets, with the flimsy inflammable aircraft and airships crashing in flames. Fear was so great of fire, that many pilots carried at least one pistol to kill themselves rather than be burnt alive. Some pilots jumped from their burning aircraft without parachutes, rather than burning to death. In the trenches and 'No Man's Land' the carnage was at a whole level further. Thousands of young men died with even the smallest frontal attacks from their trenches. Entangled in barbed wire, they were cut to pieces by the machine guns. At a slower rate, but still a terrible total, soldiers were killed in their trenches by snipers for a momentary lapse of attention. Many died deep under ground as they tunnelled towards the enemy trenches and many more were killed when tunnellers managed to built a huge stockpile of explosives under their trenches. The composite effect was that millions of soldiers, sailors and airmen were never identified or recovered after death. The 'Unknown Soldier' epitomised The Great War in remembrance of the millions never even recovered, much less identified and returned to their families for burial. More than one hundred years on, remains are still being recovered. Great effort is expended in attempting to identify the remains and military funerals still take place, attended by grandchildren and great grandchildren. In addition to the war dead, there were the living dead and the deserters. Medical care meant that many more soldiers survived serious wounds than in any previous wars. Not all of them were identified, suffering terrible injuries physical and mental. Many soldiers simply broke under the continuous bombardment. Some were sent back to lengthy treatment but a great number just ran and either disappeared or were captured and shot. The terrible human cost of The Great War extended to the bereaved who were left to wonder what had happened to their loved ones. Some found a form of closure, often through attending remembrance services over the decades. Many were so affected that their lives effectively stopped when they were unable to achieve any closure. It was a harrowing story and it has been told compassionately in this book, with two photo- plate sections in support of the text.