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Lest we forget
Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 2:28 pm
by Kaz
At 11 am on the 11th of the 11th 1918 the first world war ended.
In the UK we hold a 2 minute silence on the 11th, but our main day of rememberance is Rememberance Sunday, which is the second sunday in November.
In the UK, our last remaining link to the war died in the summer.
RIP Mr Patch, and all the others who passed before him
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8168691.stm
Re: Lest we forget
Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 3:06 pm
by Nagash
I saw Patch at last year's remembrance. Was quite the moving image.
From a political viewpoint, I find this remembrance rather ambivalent though. Yes, it was the end of (one of) the greatest massacre(s) in our history. But with the way it ended, the foundations for WWII were laid out at the same time, so it wasn't as much as a proper ending, but more of an intermezzo. As Clemenceau has played a very nasty role in that process, I have always found it very difficult to see the French gloat in their victim's role every year at the remembrances of WWI. In a way they were the agressors who planted the seeds of WWII in 1918...
Re: Lest we forget
Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 3:26 pm
by MoP
11 November is an official holiday in Belgium. I might take the opportunity to visit Flanders Fields, Ypres and the front.
Re: Lest we forget
Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 4:08 pm
by owly
United States should really celebrate this holiday but we don't......
Re: Lest we forget
Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 6:15 pm
by Atla
I can't imagine fighting in WWI, Trench Warfare is a frightening thing.
Now WWII... -sigh-
I was born in the wrong generation. What an honor that would have been!
Re: Lest we forget
Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 7:59 pm
by MoP
No worries, plenty of war to come.
Re: Lest we forget
Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 8:07 pm
by Atla
For Nato:
For Me:
My WWII M1 Garands can't get here soon enough! This 90-120 day wait is killing me.
http://www.thecmp.org/m1garand.htm <--Get yours TODAY!
Re: Lest we forget
Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 11:28 pm
by Kaz
Nagash wrote:From a political viewpoint, I find this remembrance rather ambivalent though. Yes, it was the end of (one of) the greatest massacre(s) in our history. But with the way it ended, the foundations for WWII were laid out at the same time, so it wasn't as much as a proper ending, but more of an intermezzo.
Rememberance Sunday in the UK is set aside to remember those killed during the two world wars and other conflicts, rather than just those who fought and died in WW1. It was called Armistice Day until after the second world war, when it was renamed to Rememberance Day.
Re: Lest we forget
Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 12:40 am
by Teanos
United States should really celebrate this holiday but we don't......
What?
Its called Veteran's Day. You know, November 11th.
Federal Holiday....
Ringing any bells yet?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veterans_Day
Veterans Day is an annual American holiday honoring military veterans. Both a federal holiday and a state holiday in all states, it is usually observed on November 11. However, if it occurs on a Sunday then the following Monday is designated for holiday leave, and if it occurs Saturday then either Saturday or Friday may be so designated.[1] It is also celebrated as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other parts of the world, falling on November 11, the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. (Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.)
Re: Lest we forget
Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 2:04 am
by Atla
All it took was a single .32 caliber bullet to end the war in Germany, while it took two nukes to end the war in the Pacific!
Re: Lest we forget
Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 10:56 am
by Nagash
Kaz wrote:Nagash wrote:From a political viewpoint, I find this remembrance rather ambivalent though. Yes, it was the end of (one of) the greatest massacre(s) in our history. But with the way it ended, the foundations for WWII were laid out at the same time, so it wasn't as much as a proper ending, but more of an intermezzo.
Rememberance Sunday in the UK is set aside to remember those killed during the two world wars and other conflicts, rather than just those who fought and died in WW1. It was called Armistice Day until after the second world war, when it was renamed to Rememberance Day.
Ah, cool.
