[RCAC_Sharpshooter]

Are people forgetting already?

I was selling poppies this weekend with my cadet unit and someone yelled at one of my cadets, asking "Why the f**k would I want a poppy?!?!" I was shocked when the incident was reported to me. It's for the people who died so that you could have the opportunity to even ask that question.

[FUTURE]

This year we discovered that my wife’s grandmother’s uncle was killed in WWI.

Phillip Marich Passmore
Rank Private
Unit 19 Infantry Battalion (June 1915)

He arrived at Anzac Cove on the 17th May 1915 and was killed on the 16th November 1915. He was killed at Popes Hill. He was 19.

Phillip may be a long distant relative but when we researched into to him it really brought home the shame and brutally of war to us. What made it even worse is that we saw a copy of the letter his father had signed allowing him to enlist.

Lest we Forget.

[mooxe]

Its remembrance day again.

Today I celebrated our fallen in Camp Frontenac, Afghanistan with most members of this camp. Afghan National Army troops as well as some private security firms joined us to. Our moment of silence was accompanied by the coax of a LAV III. We layed a wreath and our poppies at a small memorial we have set up for recently fallen soldiers.

[mooxe]

Hmm where did my 2009 post go? Well its Remembrance Day. I'll be parading at the Renfrew Legion and Cenotaph and at the Cenotaph in Portage La Fort, Quebec.

[diggin.robat]

Nothing much special happend here. Anyway:

Lest we forget...

[mooxe]

This year I went to a small school in Chesley Ontario to speak of the importance of today. I spoke to about 200 students on what the poppy is for, who veterans are and the sacrifices they have made. Afterwards I went to the legion and had a drink on the house and chatted up some locals.

[MF_Church]

A BIG thanks to you Mooxe!

Chesley?  Near you?  

(:

[mooxe]

Hours drive.

[LoneRebel]

Some very interesting and enlightening comments here. I would respond to some of them, but I see that they were posted years ago!

Here in the Philippines, in the Libingan ng Mga Bayani (Cemetery of Heroes), at the entrance is written "I do not know the dignity of his birth, but I do know the glory of his death."

I think that's fitting, considering that most soldiers in the Philippine military come from the lower classes. And actually, I think that's true in other countries as well, as Badger-Bag said in a previous post (even wealthy and prosperous ones). I remember reading in a sociology textbook that in most servicemen in the US military come from America's working classes. The poor always have to die in the wars of the rich, apparently...

[mooxe]

This is the first Remembrance Day I have not been specifically tasked to speak or be in a marching contingent. I'll be present in the crowd at the Meaford, Ontario Cenotaph.

[diggin.robat]

Really an impressive memorial, Mooxe. thanks for sharing.

Sadly here in East Germany many of them were removed during the GDR period, being seen by the socialists authorities as symbols of the "class enemy". Needless to say the date of 11.11. is still forgotten in public minds. We´ll see if something will change, when this conflict has taken place 100 years ago.

For some crumbling  memorials in west Germany it will be too late.


Lest we forget


diggin

[mooxe]

Another year in Meaford. Will be parading at the same cenotaph as my previous post. Weather is supposed to 4c feels like -2c. Rain and high winds...

[johnsilver]

[Schmal_Turm]

Has anyone in the U.S., besides me, noticed that about every time they talk about the "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier" that they have dropped the word SOLDIER, so it then becomes "Tomb of the Unknown?" An unknown what? a puppy dog? Is this an attempt by the media to get away from the idea of war?

[mooxe]

I haven't noticed that here in Canada. The word UNKNOWN SOLDIER is inscribed into stone on the memorial. I think maybe what your described is a move away from only memorializing soldiers specifically. The sacrifices and horrors civilians in war zones have to endure are equal or greater than those of soldiers. And in some sense its the civilians we're fighting over, isn't it?

[southern_land]

I guess that includes airmen, sailors, paramedics, merchant marine and so forth?  Not to mention service women...   but yeah sounds a bit bloody vague eh?

[Schmal_Turm]

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has never changed from a soldier that was buried from WWI, someone who was never identified. But IMO with the leftward drift of society in the last few decades it just seems like a general conditioning of the populace to not think of war, thereby neglecting the idea of the word "soldier." Maybe I am wrong but I don't put anything past these liberals in power.

[johnsilver]

In the US, this day and the last few decades it seems to me the ones of us that know our family history and still honor it are the ones who hold veterans day in high esteem.

Not wanting to start anything here and trying to explain this correctly...

As to what I started above...

I know my family history on one side dating back to the late 1700's and not by searching the internet, but from word of mouth that was constantly passed down from generation to generation, as well as from written documents and letters we still retain as family keepsakes. Complete military records, showing who fought where, from the US Revolutionary war, Confederate States of America, WW1,WW2. Our family has fought in virtually every skirmish the US has ever been involved in.. Up until my generation and myself was the last. I encouraged my son to NOT join any service, as politics is more important than winning a war now, or was when he became of age 10 years ago.

Veterans day, Unknown soldier should all be honored and the government should put those 1st on the list of holidays. they also should leave them alone and cease playing politics with them and let them do a job until it is finished.

[Antony_nz]

Researching,understanding and even appreciating history is a good thing to do. With almost all countrys on earth. I like reading first about there war history. Its the 1st thing i do.

Just a quote from Searry from the start. Finland has such a interesting WW2 history. That is all

Look at japan and the way they look at there war history.
Look at America! Or cuba. Or.. England! So much has happened.
New Zealand has a interesting war history.

The native people took part in allot of tribal wars.  
Then when Europeans came they had musket wars.
Then the English and the Maori had the New Zealand wars.

I used to find early New Zealand history like this boring. But it wasn't until i got really interested in the broad history of Spain,mexico and Hernán Cortés.
And the massive history of United states, Canada. ect


I think understanding history is important. And WW1 and WW2 were huge. And they were not that long ago.  
Would be nice to think that war is exclusively a history subject. But unfortunately it still happens. To the poor people going through it. Then and now.