Alan Cumming Learns Of The Emotional Toll Of War | Who Do You Think You Are

[@alvindurochermtl]

You all should know that the veteran wasn't just anyone, he was Lieutenant Colonel D.J.S. Murray, a celebrated piper in the Scottish Division and a world-renowned piping scholar and historian and a well-published author. Legend has it that upon playing his bagpipes in front of a group of army pipers one of them commented, "What's a man with fingers like that doing, wasting his time as an Officer," meaning even trained army pipers thought he should be an army piper which is a highly-respected role among the Scots regiments even today.

[@teresabarrett3266]

Amen 🙏

[@TRIChuckles]

I know this is very late but thank you very much for the information.

[@exdus235]

What a class act that gentleman is; the best of how we can be. He shared his brutal war stories while holding back what obviously is a parallel story - one that will probably never be told. I salute you Old Soldier, with a 'snap to' gesture, my hand held the proper way.

[@feralbluee]

the man still feels all that stress so deeply. i have heard many soldiers tell about times they’ve been startled and reacted that way - even waking out of sleep. i can’t even begin to imagine what it feels like, even though i have PTSD from things that happened to me in my 20’s. thank you to all our soldiers for keeping the world safe. 🌷🌱

[@barryallan8186]

It’s strange that you can walk past an elderly man on the street and not realise he has been through hell and back in his lifetime.this happened to me with my neighbour we said hi for years then one day we got chatting and his early years turned out to be absolutely brutal and how he managed to keep sane is beyond me

[@spiceyourspace]

There is a meme of an old man hunched over with a cane at a war memorial & his shadow is a proud soldier saluting. It is very poignant

[@jimmycakes7158]

And the young generation today say these older people shouldn't vote

[@shiboof]

@@jimmycakes7158 yup, really a sad thing for them! to be so lacking in heart.

[@janetpotter8101]

Agreed

[@justdiane5]

@@jimmycakes7158 that makes no sense to me; who else if not a whole generation who has lived through a lot more than the younger generation to make an educated vote?

[@lllllREDACTEDlllll]

Life after combat is like sitting underwater. Watching everyone else having normal emotional responses to everyday scenarios while you yourself live life through a filter of numbness.

[@FreeSpirit47]

Sometimes a filter of anxiety or impending doom, several times per day.

[@feralbluee]

i’m so sorry you have to feel that way. i really don’t understand why we always have wars. but i deeply thank you and all the soldiers who have helped the world to stay safe. 🌷🌱

[@MrTthaha]

RIP David John Skelton Murray - Died 2017.

[@lucyk2371]

That is so very sad. I would think every man would have some of that after such traumatic experiences. The war veteran he spoke with is such a wonderful person! He is a hero. What a picture of robust health as well. That is a blessing.

[@maureentuohy8672]

There’s a reason they call it “the greatest generation” they sacrificed without hesitation to protect their descendants. God Bless them.

[@hopelewis5650]

"Whoodalally" - jungle book disney movie - bear to Mowgli - India - mental health recovery

[@kathleenremo259]

The greatest was during wwI, the flu epidemic! They were ill and still went to fight for us

[@nayten0324]

@@kathleenremo259 if you’re talking about Spanish flu, that’s as the war ended in 1918. The WW1 generation are known as the lost generation whilst the WW2 generation is known as the greatest

[@jordanleigh8119]

@@nayten0324 no the world war 1 generation are known as the greatest especially in Britain. Word war 1 was 1000x worse of a war then the second.

[@latishalarimore7156]

My grandfather survived being a POW in WW11. He was part of the Bataan death march. Lost Battalion. He passed when I was 17. I recently read a book that was written a by a fellow survivor and friend of my grandfather's. I cry everytime I think about what my grandfather lived through. War is hell😢

[@fleetskipper1810]

I find this generation’s stories absolutely riveting. What is most poignant to me is that each generation has to learn this horror all over again for itself. As pointed as 20th century war stories are, we just can’t seem to learn from them. As a species, we cannot seem to avoid doing it over and over, even though we know the horrific results experienced by everyone involved. Why is that?

[@smallfeet4581]

Leaders try to take countries in a different route . Ones don't want that so it causes trouble . If you look at Yugoslavia or Germany .

[@dragonfly686868]

Exactly my sentiment. It’s unbearably sad they went through that hell n have to carry those memories for the rest of their lives. And yet there are still wars going on as we speak! 😡🤬😡

[@debbylou5729]

Because our public servants don’t go to war. They keep themselves and their families safe. Any one else is cannon fodder

[@martinpeacocke681]

Respect for your grandfather and David! What a sharp wonderful man. Please respect all our British soldiers!

[@MrForensics74]

What a sweet man. So candid and honest about the realities of what so many men endured during that time...mad respect for him. Truly wonderful this was forever memorialized in this video too for his family to treasure for so many generations to follow.

[@jondowee]

This has moved me and raised Alan Cumming even higher in my esteem.

[@kirstyj4]

What an amazing gentleman David Murray is. I could listen to both men for hours. A thank you doesn't come close to expressing my gratitude but it's all I have. So thank you 2nd Lieutenant Murray.

[@jacquikalich3873]

What a wonderful old gentleman. Very stoic, but with a sense of humour, regardless. They were the great ones. Don't make them like that any more. Thank you, sir, for your service! Awesome.

[@stephallan2543]

I surely applaud this Great War Veteran who endured such traumatic experiences both physical and mental...this man’s father was certainly a HERO! God Bless him and his family...🙇🏻‍♀️🙏🏽🔍🔥🕊

[@mainemanc1]

He was in WW2, not The Great War. Also it’s his grandfather, not father.

[@Noid111]

I remember this episode, my favourite. The situations Tam Darling found himself in were so hardcore: France, Burma, Malaya. Incredible.

[@chelseahulmston9056]

It's crazy to think that these men who saved our country were just young boys and men at the time. 17, 18 and 19 year olds. I look at todays teens and think how crazy it would be for them to be shipped off to war. Must of been incomprehensible to get your head around

[@smallfeet4581]

In those days children and youths were a lot more mature .

[@wap9137]

Very interesting story. Really nice that they found someone who fought side by side with him.

[@dawnnolan4859]

Oh, my heart. Combat stress was so real and to think how men just had to sit with it. Class act gentleman.

[@NVRAMboi]

The very high cost of being human. Sensing and acknowledging (internally) fear yet continuing forward as it must be done. The body may or may not be wounded, but the mind and soul are never quite the same. Highest respect and a salute to all in this video.

[@julievirkus785]

It was a pleasure to get a peek at Allen as a person. I have admired him as an actor for a long time (before knowing his name)! Thank you for the multifaceted characters you create for our enjoyment!

[@anndownsouth5070]

I also loved him without knowing his name. The first roll I recall seeing in was in X-men. He was so special in that.

[@kerriirvin5206]

The veterans comments brought me to tears.

[@saibliss7976]

So precious, story of a family member long gone by a living person. Very heartfelt narration👌💕💖

[@TracyGraves-f8x]

I just think this is a beautiful encounter. Alan and the second lieutenant have a beautiful rapport.

[@jespermayland571]

So heartbreaking and amazing..! We, all of us who came after, will never be able to understand what that generation went through..!

[@tm502010]

Hard core. War is horror! Then we forget, and, God help us, we do it all over again!

[@Hades-tw4ql]

They had PTSD, but didn't know what to call it.😭

[@karentucker2161]

I know that they just called it being shell shocked or at least that's how it was put as when it came to my grandpa....he apparently was a completely different person when he came back from the war. He fought in ww2.

[@salyluz6535]

@@karentucker2161: Yes, they just said my Uncle was Shell shocked.

[@theresagomez2605]

The men of that era were a different breed. I have so much respect for them.

[@boxofmoles4057]

Everyone has a story worth hearing. Take a pause from staring at a cellphone and you'll have the benefit of hearing them firsthand. While waiting on train, subway, bus platforms you'll meet survivors of great battles, concentration camps, and more. It'll leave you appreciating life even more.

[@Mountaingal212]

How extrodanary to meet a fellow soldier of your Grandfather! My Grandfather fought in the trenches in France for the US Army.. When he returned, he was a very different man..he was hardened and suffered from violent dreams. Thankfully by the time I knew him, he was just my sweet Grandpa. Combat can change a man/woman. Hoping help is more available to our vets and active services. No one deserves it more.

[@Junzar56]

This is marvelous. What a gift to meet someone who could shed light on your grandfather’s wartime experience.

[@thomasdunham5427]

my old man got ptsd in the war and gave it to the whole family...

[@sassymessmess9110]

Wish they would show the ENTIRE episodes!

[@cornishpasty4344]

This is not an official channel soooo... stop being cheap and get a subscription streaming service?

[@Will831100]

There's another part here. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gJiYh62AabmYbrc

[@SR-iy4gg]

Just watch the different parts! They're here on youtube.

[@wikedwhich1]

@@cornishpasty4344 can you elaborate...not all of us understand where to look

[@TiffYG2133]

@@cornishpasty4344 Not all of can because we're in the US sooooo...

[@ladydeerheart1]

A time when men weren't seen as men if they acknowledged their pain. My grandfather was in WWII. He never spoke of it.

[@catherinebyrne1796]

What a lovly man great bit of history to no

[@willmpet]

I have come to understand the difficulty that soldiers experienced in war and why they are attached to each other. Though I have disagreed with the political direction that has taken many, I realize why! What hell they experienced!

[@mimsicle1]

We could never wake my father by going up and shaking him. We all knew to just shake his toe and be ready to run.

[@bodan1196]

Sometimes it takes the strongest of people to break, for 'the rest of us' to survive. We humans are a funny lot, are we not?

[@feralbluee]

it seems all we do is fight in wars. Before WWI and since WWII, it seems there’s always been a war. his grandfather is a beautiful man. 🌷🌱

[@toshiyaar7885]

David, that was quite a lesson!

[@rosemariemckinley7326]

My father was in Burma. Its on is headstone

[@aimeecurry9774]

WOW THANKS FOR SHARING ALLEN. I REALLY ENJOYED THAT VETS TALE AND INSIGHTS.

[@littleogeechee223]

He was certainly a handsome man..

[@anndownsouth5070]

Can anyone tell me why I am crying?

[@32446]

My grandad fought on the Somme and was a strange person for the rest of his life. It’s no wonder.

[@rosameryrojas-delcerro1059]

My great uncle had two tanks blown out from under him during the battle of the bulge. Then the hospital they took him to was bombed by the Germans and he was evacuated to the UK. After evaluation he was discharged due to his (physical) injuries. He is long gone, he died when I was a toddler, but his wife (died a few years ago) said that she would often have to shake him awake when he was sleeping or napping because he would scream and tremble due to (what we now know is) PTSD. She said that it got less frequent as he got older, but it never went away and he was kind of like a nervous pet, certain sounds etc, would startle him. Unfortunately, he never talked about his service, so beyond his injuries and what is on paper records from the archives we do not know very much.

[@scootjockey]

Rest exercise and occupational therapy sounds good to me ,more than what i got thats a fact!

[@feralcat07]

Best Who do so far.

[@pattiripley7599]

Young men the age of these young soldiers go through too much and learn the horrors of this world in the most extreme ways. It leaves scars on them all, no matter the generation. The respect for each and everyone is beyond compare and should not ever be taken lightly

[@bonzomcduffy8336]

It's always interesting how British soldiers and or people who have been through stress show stoicism when being interviewed by when a nerve is touched they show how deeply they are affected by a traumatic episoded. Maybe not just the British, all humans, but that old stiff upper lip business.

[@justdiane5]

If that's how you were raised as a child and your parents were equally stoic it's just in you and you can't really stop it except under safe conditions

[@salyluz6535]

🌹✨🤟🏽😆🙌🏽🦞😁

[@doggieclaude]

My granddad's brother fought for the British in WW2 and was beheaded by the Japanese in Burma. I've often wondered what he went through

[@stevebell1191]

My Grandad is front, second on the left in that battalion picture

[@bluezauza]

And to think that nowadays, their children's children whine their heads off about wearing a protective mask and keeping some distancing to save the lives of their children and d the lives of their elderly, grieves me. We wouldn't even be living the entitled lives that we have now if it wasn't for these brave men and women sacrificing theirs.

[@fleetskipper1810]

Well said

[@brainsareus]

Love me some Alan C....!

[@johnsmyth6283]

I’ve got something in my eye.

[@judithann7193]

Amazing how that happened to so many of us.

[@WendyDarling1974]

What strikes me is that his grandfather shares my brother and my great uncle’s name, Thomas Darling.

[@commentzky3321]

Man it's curious, how a Alan is twice my age, but his grandfather was younger than mine.

[@maryavatar]

Commentzky because men can father children from mid puberty up to death. There’s 42 years between my dad’s oldest child and his youngest. Four of his kids were born after he became a grandfather. My youngest sibling became a great uncle when he was 4 years old.

[@calebsmommy812]

It could also be because this had to have been aired a long time ago. He happened to mention that this was 65 years ago now, and it's been 74 years now since the end of ww2

[@bcoleman2006]

PTSD is real

[@mac-vl4ib]

Sgt darling and his SNP sturgeon loving very quite now since police investigation grandson So proud

[@krisc2535]

Great grandad fought in both worlds wars then drank himself to death two years after the 2nd. (Irish Guards)

[@smallfeet4581]

😥

[@rickclouston778]

Really think they missed an opportunity not casting Cummings in The Gentlemen

[@johndoe5690]

Is that Mark Strong narrating ?

[@emacias1980]

And Veterans continue to be treated poorly.

[@MikelNaUsaCom]

Great Story. =D

[@darrenmarchant1720]

May Allah have mercy on PTSD victims and their families.

[@moose2577]

Did it say Japan entered the war on Dec 7 1941?

[@tonygiorgio2905]

These were real men .

[@cynthiaforequality]

Interesting.

[@murieltainter5936]

I'll never understand how men made it through the wars. And they were just kids.

[@anvilbrunner.2013]

Literally went Deolaly.

[@lumenvertutis955]

this man DNA should be your base.

[@michaeltaylor8835]

PTSD is being covered up

[@DETROIT1948]

War is Hell.

[@Fee212]

11:30 Officers are NEVER out front. 😠

[@stuartkelly3106]

Few were giving psychotherapy but instead were given rest, occupational therapy ect.....I think the latter sounds better

[@KimJongUnnie]

Clearly it wasn’t

[@legneil]

Tough men back then when you can tell PTSD to go to hell.

[@KimJongUnnie]

Tell PTSD to go to hell? That’s not how it works and that’s not what they did. Most WWII veterans suffered greatly. It doesn’t make a man less tough.

[@andreinarangel6227]

Kohima the "most brutal, determined fighting of the war"?? Cassino, Normandy, Ardennes, Stalingrad, Leningrad, Kursk, Crimea, Seelow Heights, Hurtgenwald, Anzio, Iwo, Okinawa, Phillipines....etc., etc., etc., just said: Hold my beer.

[@CarolinaSanctos88]

Japan in WII was not fearlessness and bravery. Please be honest, it was horror and collective psychopathy.

[@belbrighton6479]

Carolina Sanctos as we #RememberTogether it is an honour to listen to those soldiers who fought for our freedom from fascism and tyranny. Their experiences and opinions of the Japanese soldiers is honest and valid. The troops on the ground are not politicians or the monarchy.

[@silverstar4289]

Yes I caught that revisionist history too. The were more brutal and genocidal that the Germans. No reason to tone down how they were

[@CarolinaSanctos88]

Agreed. Let this be a lesson to future generations so that it never gets to that point again.

[@tanyasingh4620]

I was liking it so far but now India has come up and that he was a British soldier in my country. I can't feel anything for him anymore

[@nicolad8822]

And Indians were fighting with him?

[@KimJongUnnie]

He was fighting with Indians against the Japanese. Be glad the Japanese didn’t take over.

[@anilu3021]

We’ve lost a lot since that generation.

[@chandarsundaram1394]

Will the Brits ever sronounce Indian names properly?!! Ir's "Day-ra Doon" and "Day-o-lali". Also, the main thrust of the Japanese arraxk was at Imphal, not Kohima.