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Victory Day belongs to the left
The internationalism and patriotism of all those who fought fascism in the 1920s, 1930s, and yes, WWII should be celebrated — socialists and communists must fight for the soul and meaning of days like VE Day, writes ROBERT GRIFFITHS

MY father fought in WWII with the 48th Royal Marine Commandos. He took part in D-Day and many other military operations in Europe and North Africa and had the medals to prove it.

Yet he never reminisced very much about his own exploits. He never talked about the shooting, the killing and the dying, although he must have seen plenty of all three.

He preferred wartime stories in which rank-and-file soldiers put one over upper-class officers, or peasant girls brought the troops chickens to cook as they helped liberate France.

Robert Griffiths is General Secretary of the Communist Party of Britain.
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