See ya later Maloney
Maloney Donovon died last week.
For those of you who didn't know Maloney, he wasn't anyone you'd ever have any reason to read about in this newspaper. He was just a regular guy in his 80s, a veteran of the Second World War, a Miramichier, a joker and a wise-cracker. I liked him.
Today, May 8, is what used to be called VE Day or Victory in Europe Day. VE Day commemorates May 8, 1945, the date when the Allies celebrated the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. Or at least it used to.
To most people today, it's only a date in a dusty old history book. But to fellas like Maloney Donovon, VE Day was a real big deal.
After six years of a brutal total global war in which just about every country on the planet picked a side, the good guys, us, had finally won, but the world was tired and worn down. And what do you do when you need to rest and relax a little? Why you throw a party of course.
And on May 8, 1945 massive celebrations took place across the face of the earth the likes of which has probably never been seen before or since.
In London, England, over a million people celebrated in a carnival atmosphere. Crowds gathered in the streets and in front of Buckingham Palace where King George VI, Queen Elizabeth and Prime Minister Winston Churchill appeared on the balcony to cheering crowds. Princess Elizabeth, still a decade away from being called Queen Elizabeth II, and her sister Princess Margaret were allowed to wander anonymously among the crowds and take part in the celebrations.
In the United States, President Harry Truman, who celebrated his 61st birthday that day, dedicated the victory to the memory of his predecessor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had been so committed to ending the war. Roosevelt died less than a month earlier on April 12.
The party went on in Canada too, maybe nowhere more than in Halifax.
The population of Halifax nearly doubled during the war as personnel poured into the city by the tens of thousands. Many of the military resented the overcrowding and strained facilities, and the way they believed themselves ignored by the port city's permanent residents. Bad feelings, combined with the poor job the military and local authorities did to prepare for VE Day turned spontaneous celebrations into a rampage. Liquor stores and restaurants had been closed so everyone could enjoy the holiday. That was the straw that crippled the camel. Thousands of sailors and soldiers, along with many civilians, decided to "liberate" the locked-up liquor and beer on a huge scale. This in turn fueled wide-spread vandalism and looting, both in Halifax and Dartmouth. Three rioters died and more than 550 businesses were damaged. To quote the great Irish Rovers, "Wasn't that a party?"
VE Day is a day that is almost lost in antiquity now, but 61 years ago it was the most important day on earth. Every time we lose someone like Maloney Donovon, we lose a little bit more of what makes us what we are. Think about that today.
For those of you who didn't know Maloney, he wasn't anyone you'd ever have any reason to read about in this newspaper. He was just a regular guy in his 80s, a veteran of the Second World War, a Miramichier, a joker and a wise-cracker. I liked him.
Today, May 8, is what used to be called VE Day or Victory in Europe Day. VE Day commemorates May 8, 1945, the date when the Allies celebrated the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. Or at least it used to.
To most people today, it's only a date in a dusty old history book. But to fellas like Maloney Donovon, VE Day was a real big deal.
After six years of a brutal total global war in which just about every country on the planet picked a side, the good guys, us, had finally won, but the world was tired and worn down. And what do you do when you need to rest and relax a little? Why you throw a party of course.
And on May 8, 1945 massive celebrations took place across the face of the earth the likes of which has probably never been seen before or since.
In London, England, over a million people celebrated in a carnival atmosphere. Crowds gathered in the streets and in front of Buckingham Palace where King George VI, Queen Elizabeth and Prime Minister Winston Churchill appeared on the balcony to cheering crowds. Princess Elizabeth, still a decade away from being called Queen Elizabeth II, and her sister Princess Margaret were allowed to wander anonymously among the crowds and take part in the celebrations.
In the United States, President Harry Truman, who celebrated his 61st birthday that day, dedicated the victory to the memory of his predecessor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had been so committed to ending the war. Roosevelt died less than a month earlier on April 12.
The party went on in Canada too, maybe nowhere more than in Halifax.
The population of Halifax nearly doubled during the war as personnel poured into the city by the tens of thousands. Many of the military resented the overcrowding and strained facilities, and the way they believed themselves ignored by the port city's permanent residents. Bad feelings, combined with the poor job the military and local authorities did to prepare for VE Day turned spontaneous celebrations into a rampage. Liquor stores and restaurants had been closed so everyone could enjoy the holiday. That was the straw that crippled the camel. Thousands of sailors and soldiers, along with many civilians, decided to "liberate" the locked-up liquor and beer on a huge scale. This in turn fueled wide-spread vandalism and looting, both in Halifax and Dartmouth. Three rioters died and more than 550 businesses were damaged. To quote the great Irish Rovers, "Wasn't that a party?"
VE Day is a day that is almost lost in antiquity now, but 61 years ago it was the most important day on earth. Every time we lose someone like Maloney Donovon, we lose a little bit more of what makes us what we are. Think about that today.
posted by Street Wise Guy | 7:00 PM
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