darlinghepburn:“I still dream about those boys you know,” she says quietly. “I’ve never stopped wond
darlinghepburn:“I still dream about those boys you know,” she says quietly. “I’ve never stopped wondering how many of them actually made it home.I wasn’t allowed to take my own camera with me to Burma but after I got home all the boys started sending me their pictures. A lot found it hard to speak about the war and I used to get lots of letters from their families about that. Unless you experienced it you had no idea what it was like. That’s why it’s so important that schools teach children what it was all about. So we never, ever forget.I’d always tried to imagine I was sitting at home by the fire, singing to people in the same room. But I became a messenger, linking separated people. It is very humbling that people still refer to me as the Forces Sweetheart. I just saw it as my duty to keep on singing. I thought that tag would disappear after the war and I’d just be another singer.The best thing was being able to chat to the boys. I’d go round the casualty tents, sit on beds and hold their hands. Some used to get quite upset. Many had been away for six years and I reminded them of their sisters, their sweethearts, their wives – the home life they were fighting for. I was in the air and the news came over. We all gave a cheer and said, ‘Well, that’s it. It’s all over’ and had a glass of champagne. But I remember wondering how many of the boys I’d been singing too had missed out too. So many of them never came home.”Happy 99th Birthday to the Forces Sweetheart, Dame Vera Lynn! (March 20th 1917) -- source link
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