Lest We Forget...

[Flyby PC 23]

11th of the 11th gentlemen, not that any of you needed reminding.

 

Couldn't tell you why, but it all seems so poignant this year. It might be the spate of veterans we've recently lost, or maybe that the economy is a little more bleak. I know from my own perspective that no matter how trying or difficult it is to keep my business going, I remain truly thankful that I'm not stuck waist high in mud and rancid ice cold water, missing my mates who were blown to smithereens, waiting for the whistle to go before running towards a lethal line of machineguns.

 

I'm 44, and had more than twice the lifetime that some of those boys gave for their country. God rest their blessed souls.

[RAF_Louvert 101]

.

 

A most heartfelt and sincere salute to all veterans, past, present, and future. If we could but learn from our mistakes the horrors of war would not need to be repeated over and over again.

 

.

[Slartibartfast 153]

As I posted in the Pub I will just add to this post...

 

As today is rememberence day here in the UK I send this it is a poem by Wilfred Owen and is called :-

 

Anthem for a doomed Youth

 

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?

Only the monstrous anger of the guns.

Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle

Can patter out their hasty orisons.

No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;

Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,

The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;

And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

What candles may be held to speed them all?

Not in the hands of boys but in their eyes

Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.

The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;

Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,

And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

 

To all those who have died and been injured may we remember them now and forever for what they gave so that we may have the freedom we should rightly covet... for being free is a gift that some give their lives so that others may experience it. To all the fallen on the battlefield may they rest in peace.

[Olham 164]

Seen a documentary about 1 July, 1916, first battle fo the Somme - words keep stuck in throat like a gun jam.

May you all rest in peace, all you countless young men - they could tear your bodies, but not your souls.

[VONTOBLER 18]

On this day I remember several events, one is, today is my oldest sons 18th birthday,and two I am reminded of my great great uncle Willard,a young 19 year old Tennessee doughboy who was like so many other young men of that terrible war buried in Flanders fields.

VonTobler

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

May God protect and watch over the Souls of those Brave young men, from all History's Armed Conflicts, whatever Nation they were from

Edited November 11, 2010 by UK_Widowmaker

[Von Paulus 8]

I remember them.

That they rest in peace.

[Bullethead 12]

I drink to their shades.

 

 

[NS13Jarhead 6]

A toast to all who did their duty. To those who came home, and to those who did not. Salute!

Edited November 11, 2010 by NS13Jarhead

[Hasse Wind 46]

An important day that shouldn't be forgotten.

 

I always have mixed feelings when I think about the history of WW1. It was a terrible tragedy for winners and losers both, but without it my homeland wouldn't have gained its independence so soon. Many people in the years during the war and after it (and even today) saw Germany as a militaristic oppressor hell-bent on conquering Europe and blamed the Germans for everything. But again in my country's case, the Germans were actually the ones who helped us to become free of foreign occupation. True, they did it mostly for selfish reasons (to strike a blow against Russia that was already collapsing and to help the birth of a new state friendly to Germany), but no one else was willing to give such significant and serious aid.

 

So when I think about the Great War, I feel that it wasn't all in vain. Some good things did come out of all the bloodshed and suffering too. Maybe it sounds strange to many people here, but that's how I feel.

[Von Paulus 8]

Are you Finnish, Hasse Wind? I thought you were German.

[Rugbyfan1972 1]

As I posted in the Pub I will just add to this post...

 

As today is rememberence day here in the UK I send this it is a poem by Wilfred Owen and is called :-

 

Anthem for a doomed Youth

 

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?

Only the monstrous anger of the guns.

Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle

Can patter out their hasty orisons.

No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;

Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,

The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;

And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

What candles may be held to speed them all?

Not in the hands of boys but in their eyes

Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.

The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;

Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,

And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

 

To all those who have died and been injured may we remember them now and forever for what they gave so that we may have the freedom we should rightly covet... for being free is a gift that some give their lives so that others may experience it. To all the fallen on the battlefield may they rest in peace.

 

Slartibartfast,

 

That is a fine choice for today of all days, especially when you realise (as I am sure some of you already know), that Wilfred Owen was killed on the 4th November 1918, and his parents received the telegram notifying them of his death on the 11th November 1918. As the story goes the boy delivering the telegram knocked on the door just before 11am.

 

Thanks

Rugbyfan1972

[Olham 164]

Hasse Wind, the best outcome of those two incredibly monstrous wars, that I can see,

is how we treat each other today. We do not intend to make war with each other (not in

the so-called Western World) - we learned to respect each other, and regard each other

as on the same level more or less.

If I think of the blood shedded being shedded for that result - it was not all invain.

[Typhoon 5]

I have just returned from a Rememberance Day service at our local Cenotaph, where I had the priviledge of laying a wreath for our organization. It is sad that as each year passes there are fewer and fewer veterans able to attend. Having said that, the turnout of the local townspeople was phenomenal.

 

This was a poem that was read at the end of the service.

 

Lest We Forget

 

It is the VETERAN, not the preacher,

Who has given us freedom of religion.

 

It is the VETERAN, not the reporter,

Who has given us freedom of the press.

 

It is the VETERAN, not the poet,

Who has given us freedom of speech.

 

It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer,

Who has given us freedom to assemble.

 

It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer,

Who has given us the right to a fair trial.

 

It is the VETERAN, not the politician,

Who has given us the right to vote.

 

It is the VETERAN ,

Who salutes the Flag.

 

It is the veteran ,

Who serves under the Flag.

 

 

Tony

[Olham 164]

Well spoken words!

[Hasse Wind 46]

Are you Finnish, Hasse Wind? I thought you were German.

 

Yep, I'm Finnish. Don't let the German-sounding name fool you.

[RAF_Louvert 101]

.

 

Hasse Wind, I saw your lovely country numerous times during my SIGINT days in the USAF. Granted it was from 40,000 feet up, but I did see it.

 

.

[Olham 164]

Then it must have looked almost as small as in my OFF Pilots Maps? Although it must be pretty big.

Never been there, nor looked down upon Finland - all I know is Sibelius' beautiful "Finlandia".

(And Hasse Wind. And Paarma, of course!)

[Hasse Wind 46]

.

 

Hasse Wind, I saw your lovely country numerous times during my SIGINT days in the USAF. Granted it was from 40,000 feet up, but I did see it.

 

.

 

SIGINT, interesting. I know that all kinds of strange stuff was going on in the Scandinavian airspace during the Cold War, but unfortunately the most interesting reports are still classified here and also elsewhere, I suppose. The Soviets were quite active too, with their important northern naval bases and stuff.

 

Ah, but we shoudn't go too far off-topic here, no matter how interesting the subject.

[RAF_Louvert 101]

.

 

Agreed. My apologies for the detour.

 

.

[Bullethead 12]

the best outcome of those two incredibly monstrous wars, that I can see,

is how we treat each other today. We do not intend to make war with each other (not in the so-called Western World) - we learned to respect each other, and regard each other as on the same level more or less.

 

I dunno. I think more and bloodier wars have been fought between kinsmen than foreigners. From an ethnocentric POV, foreigners can be forgiven for not knowing the local customs, so wars with them can often be dismissed or at least forgiven as based in part on ignorance. But between cultural brothers, any slight is seen as a deliberate insult, and trying to introduce different ideologies is seen as biological warfare. Hence civil wars are the worst, and you also have blood feuds lasting for centuries.

 

This goes back to the roots of modern civilization. The Mesopotamians, the Classical Greeks, the pre-Roman (and current) Celtic peoples, the Warring Kingdoms of China, the Central and South American Indian cultures, the Pueblo Indians, the various Muslim and Christian denominations, you name it. All of them were constantly at each others' throats for centuries, even millennia, until one of them finally won or (more often) some external invader came along and imposed peace on them at the point of the sword or bayonet.

 

This is about the only case I can think of that makes "cultural diversity" seem like a good idea. But it's a strong one.

 

It is the VETERAN....

 

Amen to that.

[Flyby PC 23]

I have just returned from a Rememberance Day service at our local Cenotaph, where I had the priviledge of laying a wreath for our organization. It is sad that as each year passes there are fewer and fewer veterans able to attend. Having said that, the turnout of the local townspeople was phenomenal.

 

This was a poem that was read at the end of the service.

 

Lest We Forget

 

It is the VETERAN, not the preacher,

Who has given us freedom of religion.

 

It is the VETERAN, not the reporter,

Who has given us freedom of the press.

 

It is the VETERAN, not the poet,

Who has given us freedom of speech.

 

It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer,

Who has given us freedom to assemble.

 

It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer,

Who has given us the right to a fair trial.

 

It is the VETERAN, not the politician,

Who has given us the right to vote.

 

It is the VETERAN ,

Who salutes the Flag.

 

It is the veteran ,

Who serves under the Flag.

 

 

Tony

 

 

I like that Typhoon. I like it a lot in fact.

 

And as for us westerners being civilised about going to war these days, I'm not so sure that's not just a pleasant veneer. Scratch the surface, and the warrior awakes in all of us. Think of Sarajevo. Chosen city for the Winter Olympics 1984, but under bitter siege from heavy artillery from 1992 to 95 in a civil war riddled with division, ethnic cleansing and war crimes. I understand the city is almost entirely rebuilt, but the point to remember is war is a conflagration started by a spark. Sarajevo was a modern educated city, not unlike any other in Europe. So was Nanking in the 30's. It's a very dangerous mindset to have, thinking 'it can't happen here'. Look at 9-11, - it can.

 

I don't think we've all found our faith in peace, it's more that we've gotten so good at war we scare ourselves into being responsible with the power of it.

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

Sorry Hasse Wind...I couldn't resist! (I hope you wont be offended my friend)

 

[Olham 164]

Flyby: It's a very dangerous mindset to have, thinking 'it can't happen here'. Look at 9-11, - it can.

 

You may have got me wrong there, Flyby. I did not mean, that war cannot happen in the "Western World".

What I meant to say was, that the countries of the Western World (America and Europe) wouldn't fight

each other no more.

9-11 was an attack carried to America from outside this "Western World". It was a terrorist attack.

I do not regard that as a regular war. In a war, soldiers in uniforms fight other soldiers in uniforms.

Terrorists and partisans are a different story - at least for me.

[Hasse Wind 46]

Sorry Hasse Wind...I couldn't resist! (I hope you wont be offended my friend)

 

 

For a Python song, that one is downright solemn and reverent.