I still remember the old dining room at my grandmother's place. There was this dimmed green LazyBoy chair that my great grandfather would always fall asleep in after a meal. Beside the chair there would be a small coffee table with his reading glasses resting nicely on a stack of old books. He didn't really talk much. I don't think I ever really talked to him much neither. However every time we visited, I would always go over to him for a kiss on my forehead. Unfortunately that's pretty much the basic interaction we ever had when he was still alive. I don't even remember much about our trip to England. I was too young to ever realize that I was in the presence of such a extraordinary figure.

It was just another family gathering at my grandmother's place on Sunday. All the relatives were asked to come in to discuss what we should do, what our roles and duties are, for my great grandfather's cremation ceremony.

My great grandfather passed a way almost three years ago due to complications after his stroke attack. To tell you the truth I never really had a chance to actually sit down and have a chat with him much when he was still alive. It wasn't because I didn't like him or because I didn't want to spend time with him, it's just that I was too young to appreciate the stories he could tell me.

My great grandfather's life was historic, though at times, actually most of the time, not in a good way. There was an incident that he was involved in when he was at his peak of his career. Of course coming from me people will think that I am being biased after all I'm a family. But there are two sides to every story and of course the bad ones travel faster and are usually the ones people tend to believe. Sensational stories are always easy to be misinterpreted, or in this case, flipped totally upside down.

Anyone who was in their college years during the early seventies would all be saying in harmony that my great grandfather was a bad guy. That he was responsible for everything that had happened and that he was the reason for the tragedy. But my family knows better. We have records, we have letters, we have the books that I'm sure one day will surface and finally clear my great grandfather from all the accusations. I can't say I know enough to be the one telling all about it -- but I will.

His cremation ceremony will be held on Sunday February 25 and will be attended by many of Thailand's respectable figures who loved and knew him for who he really was and not what the media made him become. It is going to be a royally sponsored ceremony. HM Queen Sirikit will be the one who lights the royal flame on behalf of HM The King at the ceremony.

All the family members were assigned tasks and duties at the event. There will be a parade where each of us will carry a piece of his achievements, medals, uniforms, and other items that he had earned throughout his lifetime.

So for my duty as a great granddaughter, I'm going to dedicate a blog post about the life, the achievements, and the truth, about my great grandfather - Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn.


[Part 2]