Remeberance Day
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I am not aware of any 2 minutes of silence here in the states, I know it's a 'bank holiday'...or is it? it's marked on our calendar as 'Veterans day' so I assume so. I would have thought a country such as ours with the amount of living veterans and a continuing daily tally of new veterans would celebrate this day in a bigger way.
Now if I may ask is yours rembeberance of WW2 or like here a rememberance of all veterans of all wars?
I remember vaguely as a kid living in a former British Colony having a 'Poppy day', is this the same day?
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Remembrance Day is actually based on the armistice at the end of WWI...hence the 2 minute silence on 11th hour of the 11th Day of the 11 month...but it has been extended to cover all wars since that time.
It seems that in the UK there are now only 3 remaining veterans of WWI, so it's on the verge of passing from living memory entirely into history. -
In France , it's a quite important date in History. The end of the WW1, and the rememberance of all soldiers (of each side ) dead for what ? ( Liberty, Freedom or ...economics )
MALAISE
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@alan fraser said:
Remembrance Day is actually based on the armistice at the end of WWI...hence the 2 minute silence on 11th hour of the 11th Day of the 11 month...but it has been extended to cover all wars since that time.
It seems that in the UK there are now only 3 remaining veterans of WWI, so it's on the verge of passing from human memory entirely into history.Shame. Any of you ever visit one of them soldier's graveyards from WWI? My dad took to one when I was about 14, 15. Must have been somewhere in West-Flanders.
Breaks your heart, a place like that.
Today's a national holiday here in Belgium, but I doubt many will be still for two minutes, or even one. It is indeed passing into history.
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@unknownuser said:
Shame. Any of you ever visit one of them soldier's graveyards from WWI? My dad took to one when I was about 14, 15. Must have been somewhere in West-Flanders.
When I went to secondary school, my class volunteered in keeping the graves of WWI soldiers tidy and all in our local cemetery. Note that there are hundreds of them since my city used to garrison two military units as well, an infantry and a mounted one.
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I've been to a few cemeteries in France; and at Souda Bay on Crete and Anzio, where my dad was. They were all beautifully kept.
Comedy or not, this still hits all the right buttons.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ba-64h6d6Q&feature=iv&annotation_id=event_789680 -
Oh yeah, I love that, too (we usd to have it here dubbed)
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While I have to work today, my wife and daughter will be joining me downtown, a block away from my office, for the Veteran's day parade. Here in Huntsville it is a big deal, probably because of the Redstone Arsenal Army base here in town. However, this day of remembrance is not at all waning, at least not from my perspective.
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@alan fraser said:
Comedy or not, this still hits all the right buttons.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ba-64h6d6Q&feature=iv&annotation_id=event_789680Ah, yes. It does. Everytime again.
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Eric, I visited the Redstone arsenal a few years ago, yikes!!! it's friggin huge.
I loved the ammo bunkers, looked exactly like the Shire or Telletubby land with the grass covering them.
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Knoxville has an annual parade downtown, and there is always smaller events scattered around here and there, but in reality very few attend. Outside of government and bank employees, very few people have off from work. But the really big day when the U.S. honors it's veterans is Memorial Day.
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In the US it was Called Armistice Day after 1918, and then after WWII--then it became Veteren's Day. When I was in Grade School We would usually observe a moment of Silence at 11 am. Anyway, This makes me think of my trips to Arlington and to the WWII memorial in Washington DC. Very moving.
My favorite monument is the Korean War Memorial. Very Haunting.
Thanks to all our Vets.
in three years it will 11-11-11 and the armistice signed at 11:11. Set your digital clocks for that one
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I don't believe it is properly impressed on the youth in the US. Although a Scout, I only have vague memories of such events as a child, some flag ceremonies or parades. I think it became uncool, considered militaristic or "pro-establishment" during the Viet Nam era, which is silly. The Viet Nam Memorial was a key to helping people understand "service" in the US. You appreciate these things more as you mature. Yes, it's a bank holiday and many offices are closed.
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It's important to Remember that those brave souls who gave their lives so we can live in freedom were not just citizens of our individual countries, but were fighting shoulder to shoulder with men and women from many other countries with diverse ethnic backgrounds.
DE
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My father flew in B-25s and B-17s. He was shot down over the Burma Hump on Nov. 10th..
V-Day means a lot to my family..He is buried in Brussels and my 84 year old mother has never seen his grave..Thank you to all service men..
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In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
— Lt.-Col. John McCrae -
Kohima Epitaph
"When you go home
Tell them of us, and say,
For their tomorrow
We gave our today" -
I'm not sure if the BBC's iPlayer can be viewed outside the UK, but if it can then you might want to watch this:
I remember watching this each year with my parents, although my father would never go to the local Remembrance Day Ceremony. He used to say, "It's over, and I want to forget it", and he had a lot to forget, not least of all D-Day on Gold Beach.
Regards,
Bob -
'fraid not, only for UK residents.
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Words really aren't sufficient in expressing the gratitude and honor I have for my Dad and all the other brave men and women of the "Greatest Generation" who fought for freedom and liberty. All too soon they will be gone.
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