Friendly Fire
Upon reading all the comments about friendly fire in Afghanistan where a few have been killed and wounded my memory goes back to the Battle of Normandy in August 1944.
I was in the 4th Canadian Armoured Division, an assistant to an Arty FOO.
During our offensive out of Caen towards the Falaise pocket we were bombed twice with friendly fire. On 8 August the Canadian and Polish troops suffered 300 killed and wounded with huge amounts of equipment destroyed. by American bombers.
Then on 14 August this act was repeated by the RAF & RCAF heavy bombers and this caused another 400 casualties.
In both instances we still had to carry on the attack despite those with minor wounds and suffereing the agonies of dysentry
plus the extreme heat and the alkaline dust which stung our skin and just about closed our eyes. We didn't have any experts on trauma with us in those days, we just had to keep on fighting.
So what's the big deal on to-day's episodes.?
Herb Danter
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