THE RIGHT TO BE AT FORT WILLIAM

This is my first posting on the forum and i am afraid it is out of character of me to rant my rage and question a comment that has been made, and somewhat endorsed by a forum member regarding the wearing and display of the lapel / tie pin dagger.
I, and my wife, have attended many years gatherings at Fort William with my Father and Mother and have great memories of our weekends with veteran Commandos and their families, most of whom regrettably,are no longer with us or are to incapacitated to attend.
I am a son of a Commando 6 troop Number 2, was, and still is proud that like so many others who had a Dad who endured that tough training allowed him and them to wear with pride that coveted Green Beret.
I together with my wife have stood on that hill in various degrees of inclement weather watching with pride, then and now, as the Pipes and Band play, and they march up that HILL, it still brings a tear to my wife and a lump to my throat.
When my Father was too ill to attend,and some years later prior to his death, he gave me his BERET, CAP BADGE, FS FIGHTING KNIFE, and a PIN, yes a PIN ! .,A pin of a DAGGER, which my Mother wore at every F W gathering. Would the person or persons who posted their responses on the forum imagine for one second that it was wrong of her to display in some small way that she was the proud wife of a of a COMMANDO.
I now come to the reason for my outrage and yes it is outrage, that now both my Father and Mother have gone, that I, as a son of a Commando should not be allowed to wear a pin in respect of my Father and many more Fathers to show our respect and honour to these men.
I attended F W this year with my Wife and sons, during all the ceremonies i carried my Dads beret and cap badge in my overcoat pocket, and stood up there at the memorial, where, by the way i scattered his ashes in 1994 and took them out for the one minute and then returned them to my pocket. However, that PIN, was given to ME, yes ME, by my Dad ,and i am proud and feel honoured to have it, and to display with pride, not to give any impression that i am, or ever was, one of these ELITE group of men, then or now, for these men can still proudly wear their green berets on thier heads.
No, i wear that pin only at Fort William, on a Saturday and a Sunday.once a year and will continue to do so out of respect and pride for my DAD and his comrades.
I do not feel the need ,though i have been informed in my ignorance, that i could display my Fathers medals on the RIGHT side of my chest. I feel, that to wear one small piece of silver, yes, mine is real silver - can say it all !
I will continue to wear this pin as my Father and other deceased Fathers, cannot . I therefore, represent him as hopefully, both my sons will when i pass on to show their RESPECT, PRIDE, HONOUR and GRATITUDE to their GRANDFATHER and his PALS..
JOHN WHITE.
ASSOCIATE MEMBER

JOHN W wrote:This is my first posting on the forum and i am afraid it is out of character of me to rant my rage and question a comment that has been made, and somewhat endorsed by a forum member regarding the wearing and display of the lapel / tie pin dagger.

John,
Welcome back to the forum.

I have searched the forum for the comments that have offended you so much and have failed to find the one you described.

I did, however, find three comments made in response to Lushershouse's post on some comment that was made to her & her family at Fort William and I presume that you are referring to the post that I made on this subject?

May I respectfully ask you to re-read my carefully written post as I think you may have missed my points and got hold of the wrong end of the stick.

Nick

Nick
I have read and reread your"carefully written post" in response to Lusherhouse/Hockhamlain posts re the PIN. If, as you said "that you find yourself in disagreement" with another forum member re the right to wear it, then naturally i take it that you are in disagreement with me ?
However, pehaps you can enlighten me as to which end of the stick you are, and maybe we can swap places.

JOHN

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 07/03/2008 22:42:30

JOHN W wrote:Nick
I have read and reread your"carefully written post" in response to Lusherhouse/Hockhamlain posts re the PIN. If, as you said "that you find yourself in disagreement" with another forum member re the right to wear it, then naturally i take it that you are in disagreement with me ?
However, pehaps you can enlighten me as to which end of the stick you are, and maybe we can swap places.

JOHN

John,
I'm sorry that you still fail to see my points and so, in an effort to make my points even clearer, I've quoted my post in full but highlighted a few words and or phrases.

NIC wrote:It's not like me to be lost for words - and I'm not...

Although, regrettably, I could not attend FW 2007 and therefore did not witness this unfortunate episode, it seems incomprehensible to me that anyone who fought for the right to freedom and democracy, and who was himself attending a public gathering in commemoration of his fallen comrades and Brothers-in-Arms, could even think to try to deny someone else the right to attend that same gathering in order to commemorate a fondly remembered relative...

However, I tend to agree with Ron that it probably was not the attendance which offended but the wearing of the coveted pin.
And, in some respects, I almost understand his (the veteran's) sentiment...
Having served in HM forces for 27 years, I do understand the pride this veteran must have in having been a Commando and the resentment of those who haven't been through the hardships of Cdo training, War etc displaying those badges of honour - even though in Denise's case it was obvious that she and her family were only showing their pride of being associated with a commando - and not pretending to be one.
Personally, because I have not undergone any Commando training, [and, here I find myself in disagreement with Bob Bishop ] I would have great difficulty in wearing a Green Beret, or a Dagger badge/pin etc. - I only use the Commando Association pin as an avatur because I know the CA has been 'stood down' and so there can be no misunderstanding about me aspiring to being a commando - BUT I am entitled to, and would, wear my father's medals with pride (on the right hand side of my jacket of course).

Having said all that, there is no excuse for boorish behaviour and we must all continue to remember our loved ones, and their comrades, in the way that we feel is best and most fitting.
I look forward to meeting you all at FW this year...

United We Conquer

Nick

Bob Bishop wrote:I would like to see it enacted that you be allowed, and encouraged, to wear the green beret on memorial occasions. It should be a sort of heredity function, far more deserved than some youth waking up to find that he is now ?Lord of Upper Whatever?. If this is to be construed as a suggestion to Geoff and others who comprise the C.V.A. Committee, you are right ? it is.

I'm also sorry that you've chosen to quote me out of context - you will see that Bob was not referring to the Pin, but to the Green Beret and I said that " PERSONALLY, I would have (personal) difficulty wearing a Green Beret - at no time did I say that I thought it was wrong for anyone else to wear a Green Beret OR a Pin.
In fact, I ended my message by saying that we should all remember our loved ones or comrades etc IN THE WAY THAT WE FIND MOST FITTING

Also, if you continue to read all the posts in the thread you will see that Denise (lushershouse) included me in the group of people she thanked for supporting her!

Nick

John, I can imagine my late father enlisting at the outbreak of war, as his father did in the First World War in the belief in what he thought was the right thing to do in order that he could live his life as he would have wished, in doing so enabling my mother and older sister and brother to live their lives as he would have wished them to. I am a child of the 50's and my father protected me and thus gave me the right to live my life as I wanted, even though there was 50 years between us. I believe that he fought to give me that same right, to do what I think is right( or wrong in other peoples eyes). And these same values I have tried to pass on to my children who are now parents themselves.
And If I wanted to wear a pin or a green beret in his memory then that is what I would do. As I strongly believe that he gave me that right. Yes we are all different and we see things differently, life would be so boring if we were not.
No, I did not do any Commando training, my father did this for me over 60 years ago for my freedom today, and If you want to wear your fathers pin and beret as a sign of pride and lasting respect to his memory then I for one would have no problems with this.
Yes. 'United We Conquer' with the aim to live our lives in freedom, today, tomorrow and for ever.

Kevin