Medal to honour her brave people (1)

I refer to Norman Grech’s letter of September 21 and must say that should Mr Grech ever personally receive an award or a medal then it would be his privilege not to wear it if he so desires. Indeed it would be his privilege also to refuse it completely.

However, it is not his privilege to refuse a medal that was won by the collective stoic courage and gallantry of circa 270,000 people who lived and fought against the ugly tyranny of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany that sought to enslave the free world. A few of those brave thousands were members of my family and, therefore, they and others like them should be the ones to decide.

Or does perhaps Mr Grech feel that his opinion is greater than the memory of those gallant thousands? The George Cross is worn with pride on our beloved flag as a symbol of brave and gallant Malta that won the admiration of the entire world including the enemies of the time – those that sought to destroy her.

And therefore the George Cross proudly emblazoned on our flag like a medal won by an individual pinned to the breast of a hero is not an artefact like Mr Grech states, but, rather, it is an expression of our values that when threatened by adversity the people of Malta will prevail against outside threats.

I feel saddened to read on blogs of this nature, people who state that Malta was bombed by the Axis powers because during WWII Malta was a member of the British Empire. How utterly naïve to think that Hitler or Mussolini would have left Malta to her own devices as they did with Switzerland had we been neutral. Many other countries, some much less important than Malta, were neutral but were still trampled upon by the war machines of Italy and Germany. Malta with her strategic importance in the Mediterranean would have been top priority for the Axis as a base from which to wage war on North Africa and their rich oil fields.

Mr Grech states that the George Cross is “an unwanted mark”. Well he should not speak in such broad terms because I am certain that there are many more like me who want it there. He feels ashamed of having it on our flag; likewise I feel ashamed of fellow Maltese who want it removed. I see this as an affront to the memory of those brave thousands who earned it.