Today we remember...

the war veterans of Finland - and the brave women and children of the home front!

So I began my day with the flaghoistering this morning.

It was on 27th April 1945 when the war in Lapland ended and the Second World War on Finland's behalf. My both grand-fathers fought in the war in Karelia front but like many veterans didn't tell much about their war time memories - it was too painful and I was too young.

There weren't many men left here in Rumar village either during the war and the women and children had to do also the men's work on fields and in forest. When the Russian aircraft flew over the village people took shelter in the old cellar of Pellas.

This little thing had took shelter under the cellar roof when we were renovating it two years ago.

http://www.tuntematonemanta.fi/trailer.html

Aili was the mother of Pellas household at that time, a former town-girl who had to take the horses and cut the hay for the whole village when everyone else was so afraid of the dangerous hay-machine and the big horses.

Uno and Aili

Her husband Uno was back safe quite soon and could tell how the few Russian words he had learnt from the Russian navy visiting Rumar waters when he was small had saved him in a confrontation with the enemy.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3437012581680213431 - This is a film called Fire and Ice made of the Finnish Winter War 1939-40 if you got interested.