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[DragonSpeed]

With Rememberance Day coming up on Friday, November 11th, The Guardian, a UK paper, has published some excepts from a book of interviews with surviving WWI veterans (of which there are very few).  It's been 60 years since WWI, and 90 years since WWI

One excerpt:

All over the battlefield the wounded were lying there, English and German, all crying for help. But we weren't like the Good Samaritan in the Bible, we were the robbers who passed by and left them. You couldn't stop to help them. I came across a Cornishman who was ripped from shoulder to waist with shrapnel, his stomach on the ground beside him. A bullet wound is clean - shrapnel tears you all to pieces. As I got to him he said, "Shoot me." Before I could draw my revolver, he died. I was with him for the last 60 seconds of his life. He gasped one word - "Mother". That one word has run through my brain for 88 years. I will never forget it. I think it is the most sacred word in the English language. It wasn't a cry of distress or pain - it was one of surprise and joy. I learned later that his mother was already dead, so he felt he was going to join her.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/military/story/0,11816,1605959,00.html

Please don't just look at it as a long weekend.  Take the time to remember, to help teach our youth, and the adults around you that don't understand.

We shall remember them, and their sacrifices!

[Nostro]

Poppies are worn as the symbol of remembrance, a reminder of the blood-red flower that still grows on the former battlefields of France and Belgium. During the terrible bloodshed of the second battle of Ypres in the spring of 1915, Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae, a doctor serving with the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps, wrote of these flowers which lived on among the graves of dead soldiers:

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.
John McCrae 11

Remebrance Day is for the living, so we do not forget.

[Fish Assassin]

Taking 2 minutes to remember the fallen is not asking too much.

[DragonSpeed]

Taking 2 minutes to remember the fallen is not asking too much.

Unfortunately, for many, it seems to be more important to get out of town for your 3 day weekend, or get out and fish for the day, forgetting there's a reason we have the day off from work

[Fish Assassin]

I agree totally. My dad is a vet. Since I was a kid we always attended or watched the Rememberance Day ceremonies from the Cenataph in Vancouver. I always have a lump in my throat watching the vets with tears in their eyes remembering their fallen comrades.

[pepsitrev]

coulnt agree with you more. in this busy world we live in and at such a fast pace we should all take a few moments to remember the ones who fought for this country so we can have what we have today

[DragonSpeed]

An interesting video that I was reminded of just today:

http://www.terry-kelly.com/pittance.htm

Military Losses During WWI

WWI:

Allied Powers       42.2M mobilized  5.15M KIA  12.83M Wounded 4.12M Prisoners or missing
Central Powers     22.8M moibilized 3.38M KIA  8.39M   Wounded 3.63M Prisoners or missing

Total:   8,500,000  Killed
          21,200,000 Wounded
            7,700,000 Prisoners or Missing

WWII stats aren't quite as easily broken down.

Here is one table, and it's summary

Total:   24,500,000 Military Killed
           37,700,000 Civilians Killed

Many other armed conflicts have in the past, and continue to see military and civilian bodies stacked up like cordwood.

Will you remember those that died, or sacrificed their arm or leg?  What are YOU doing to make sure we don't forget?  What are YOU doing to make sure that people today don't simply consider Remembrance Day "just another holiday, like Canada Day"?

[lucky]

  My girlfriend works at Costco and I was happy to find out that the whole store stops what they are doing for a moment of silence, very nice to see in todays busy society.  Remembrance day has always been important for my family, my grandfather was in ww2 as one of the devils brigade.  Its one thing seeing what happened in Hollywood movies and tv shows, but hearing the stories first hand and seeing the scars from bullets and shrapnel really opened our eyes as to how much those men had to sacrifice

[DragonSpeed]

Lucky - you should record everything your grandfather tells you about his experiences.   They will soon be only memories, and those fade and distort all too easily.

"Properly designated as the 1st Special Service Force, the Devil's Brigade was a joint World War II American-Canadian commando unit trained at Fort Harrison near Helena, Montana in the United States. All modern American and Canadian Special forces units trace their heritage to this unit."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil's_Brigade - Wow!

[chris gadsden]

I agree totally. My dad is a vet. Since I was a kid we always attended or watched the Rememberance Day ceremonies from the Cenataph in Vancouver. I always have a lump in my throat watching the vets with tears in their eyes remembering their fallen comrades.

Similiar for our family as well. We will be at the Chilliwack Rememberance Day sevice thinking not only of our late dads but all the others that gave so much as well, enabling us to enjoy the freedom we have in Canada today. We must never forget them.

I hope as many as possible will also take the time to honour our veterans tomorrow by attending a ceremony at a cenotaph near you.

[Fish Assassin]

My dad was a member of Force 136 a secret unit that was parachuted behind enemy lines in Burma. Their objective was reconnaisance and to disrupt enemy communication. Even to this day, my dad would not talk about his wartime experiences.

[BwiBwi]

Same thing with my grandfather (WWII) he would not talk about his wartime experience either.

[DragonSpeed]

http://free-blog-site.com/dragonspeed/archive/2005/11/10/85497.aspx

[Uncivil]

I posted this on FishBC

This is just a pre remebrance day note of thanks to all Canadians that have served their Country. I just returned form my daughters school where they had a Pre Rembrance Day ceremony. My daughter sang with the choir. They sang "In Flanders Fields" and "Where have all the Flowers gone?". As well there was a recital about the history and meaning of the poppy along with a video presentation of "A Pittance of Time". That is the two minutes of silence video going around the internet. It was quite moving and the school did it well . They emphasized Peace without diminishing the efforts of those who fought. I will be at the Port Moody Remebrance Day Ceremonies tomorrow with my daughters who are Parading with the Brownies and Guides. I hope that those who can get out find the time to honour our veterans by attending one of the many ceremonies. Once again thanks to those who serve.


And this as well

I talked to my dad tonight. He reminded me of something I forgot I am ashamed to say. My dad was born too late to serve. However my Grandfather was conscripted into the Candian War effort. I was unaware that thousands of Canadians were conscripted into War industry. My grandfather was conscripted (drafted) from Alberta and relocated to Fort William/Port Arthur ( Thunder Bay) and worked in the aircraft industry. He built the Helldiver Dive bomber which was used in the Pacific. He moved the family back East and he and my uncle worked in the Factory. I actually have a picture of them on the Shop floor. I never learned this until after he passed away and My uncle wouldn't talk about it. I understand that it was a big stress on the family. So on top of thanks to all the veterans, I also salute those who mobilized the war industry. You were not immortalized in letters but without your hard work the evil would not have been defeated. Thanks Grandpa John and Uncle Peter.

So once again I thank all those who served their country. 

[DragonSpeed]

Remembrance Day Parade in Vancouver South:

http://www.slacker.ca/brian/webpics/showpix.aspx?20051111Scouts