Sci-Fi Girl wrote: ↑Wed Sep 28, 2022 2:32 pm
The old version of Exisle is gone now, along with everything she posted there, though I did manage to save some threads via archive.org, including the hug threads. (Huggle made a new version of EI for us to post at. I am still hoping there is a way to restore something of the old board from backups.
)
If you have any threads saved from EI, please mail them to me. I could set up an archive section on EI and repost them there. I think there might perhaps be some screenshots of the old EI on the internet archive. This might enable us to repost more material.
Disclaimer: The following might possibly annoy those with a military background. Please keep in mind that it's simply the honest feelings of a civilian who has never experienced war nor even ever has seen a weapon up close.
I'm very sorry that I never got a chance to meet Emma in person, or Nonny rather, under which name I got to know her waaay back on Slipstream and then on ExIsle. I do believe she even was a member at KHCMB and GMWMB (Keith Cobb's and Gordon Wolvett's boards, respectively). Online, she sounded like a very interesting woman. Sometimes desperate - which of us doesn't have these moments? - but with a basic courage that showed even in very dark times and with a sense of humour that was perfectly indestroyable.
I understand that she was in the military but nevertheless she was a very warm and friendly person. I'd never have imagined that both can actually go together since being merciless is basically in the job description of a soldier. You can't have a war when your warriors offer an injured opponent a band aid or pity those whos houses they are ordered to destroy with bombs. Yet, fascinatingly, Emma appears to have managed to do this emotional split. I would very much have liked to discuss her experiences and learn about how she became the person she was.
Thank you to everyone for posting photos and her stories. This gives me a chance to get a bit closer to her.
A technical question strikes me: why took it half a year for her to get the ceremony and the burial?
Is that customary in the Airforce or was it delayed by Corona?
Just curious because here in Germany it usually takes 48 hours, or in case of a cremation 5-14 days. We'd consider it impious to leave a person unburied for a longer time. It's even forbidden by law. We also aren't allowed to keep the urn at home or sprinkle the ashes into the sea or on the ground; it must without any exceptions be buried in a cemetry. That's both for hygiene and to prevent human remains from being treated disrespectful.