armistice day?

met three people this week that have absolutely nothing in their countries to commemerate armistice day or rthe dead of any wars.

this is in the 'lighter side' :roll: :roll: don't i pivk 'em!

here in the Uk we stop for 2 minutes silenceat 11am on the 11th of the 11th (americans should get that one!). we also stop for 2 minutes at 11am on the sunday nearest which was today. we go around from about the 28th october wearing poppies on our clothes and there isn't a cookery show or a pop show where they aren't wearing one.

the BBC show live coverage every year from a place called the cenotaph in whitehall, the centre of london. queen, all the royal family, forces, thousands of soldiers march past, all the dominions lay wreaths etc. it's a big do here. and we remember all other conflicts as well post WW!.

our town centres have war memorials with the names of soldiers from two world wars carved on them. generally, there will be a service in a nearby church and then when everyone has file out and lined up, the traffic is stopped and we march to the 'war memorial and gather around it befor laying wreaths. generally, it's the scouts, cubs, beavers, guides etc that march with the british legion (a local social club that was originally for ex-servicemen), they wear berets and all their medals, there might be 4/5 policemen in uniform, the fire brigade, councillors, if you are near a unit there will be a presence of say a band and a guard of honour if near any of the three services units. then you have the st johns (first aid) merchant navy, lifeboat institution (both you can guess where!).

it's still a big thing here and on the 11th, all the stores will ask over the loudspeakers if people would like to stop to 'reflect' for 2-minutes. of course vehicles move on obliviously but so does life!

i don't know but this is what i heard

france VERY much lik us
belguim - very much like us

then it is not so big elsewhere like usa, ussr, germany, austria. italy have nothing whatsoever i was told, but she was 20 and i was looking at her tits.

regards

Taffy

In Finland we commemorate the dead of our wars on the third Sunday in May. It's more like honor guards in graveyards and official speeches, flags hoisted and candles burnt.

We do a lower key version of what Taffy describes, but we also do ANZAC day on the 25th April which is a national public holiday and is the anniversary of the Gallipoli (Turkey) landings and a big one for Aussies and Kiwis, considered as a coming of age as a nation by us even though it was a cockup militarily, so big in fact that tours to Gallipoli are becoming bigger and bigger every year.

Did you know that Taffy is a WW1 historian? And you all thought he only had one interest in life.

Steve

This is what we do here in Canada.

http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=history/other/remember/r_intro

steve said:

We do a lower key version of what Taffy describes, but we also do ANZAC day on the 25th April which is a national public holiday and is the anniversary of the Gallipoli (Turkey) landings and a big one for Aussies and Kiwis, considered as a coming of age as a nation by us even though it was a cockup militarily, so big in fact that tours to Gallipoli are becoming bigger and bigger every year.

Did you know that Taffy is a WW1 historian? And you all thought he only had one interest in life.

Steve

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******* or beer?

we also observe armistice day in the U.S. on 11/11, but we now call it veterans day. its a bank and government holiday, some pomp mostly by the governmnent and the military, sadly it goes somewhat unrecognized by many americans. we also have memorial day that was originally meant to honor those that have fallen in service to our country but now has also become a time to honor friends and family that have passed. its also a bank and government holiday, and most businesses are closed as well. it is observed on the last monday in may. this makes it the unofficial beginning of summer for most americans, and we typically celebrate it as such, camping, picnics, partys, etc. to me it seems like it should be a more solemn time, but i guess in a way we are celebrating the lifestyle that those who have given their lives in service to our country have afforded us. i also just wanted to say to anyone out there who has served or is serving in the armed forces: THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY , there are many out here who genuinely appreciate your sacrifice.
rich

rich43 said:

I also just wanted to say to anyone out there who has served or is serving in the armed forces: THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY , there are many out here who genuinely appreciate your sacrifice.
rich

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What he said.

While I personally dislike the politics that put our Servicemen and women in harms way. I celebrate their commitment to this Country and their sacrifice for us all. Not nearly enough respect is shown to all veterans. I grew up in the era of the Vietnam war and the way returning Servicemen were treated disgusts me to this day. So many all over the world have given so much unselfishy for so many that are ungrateful, we should all pause to remember them that gave the ultimate sacrifice. To all out there that have Served and are Serving. THANK YOU !
A Proud Son of a United States Marine

steve said:

Did you know that Taffy is a WW1 historian? And you all thought he only had one interest in life.

Steve

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yes folks, i have a couipla hundred books on WW1 aviation. started at 8 with biggles books. i even took flying lessons in 50's biplanes called tiger moths in 2004. the canadians have a very rich heritage of pilots from WW1 with bishop, collishaw and barker the most famous. don't get me started.

i think we have a 'mature' audience here and maybe countries do do more but i guess i was talking to youngsters.

but there is something more comforting when you've won those struggles that nevertheless makes the story so tilted 90 and 63 years later. it's unfair on millions of russians, germans and other axis countries who have not only buried the war but the memories of those who actually gave their lives. i'm talking about the regualar soldier being remembered here and nothing else.

to pick (very carefully) an example, if you are yugoslavian, do you commemorate all the dead of your country or just 'your bit' when you remember the internal skullduggery. difficult isn't it? so because of this, the great sacrifice is forgotten because the nation as a whole can't agree on a 'clean view of it'.

i know that the USA gets way less public holidays than anyone so to have one for this should be a great honour. it's very hard to keep these things going. in truth half the people can't get themselves ready and in the right place for 11am.

....but then half past two, on the eleventh of the eleventh doesn't really have a ring too it does it!

regards

Taffy

We've got "Rememberance Day" here tomorrow at 11am. Most radio stations across our brown land support a minute of silence which "most" people show their respect. It's not for everyone but I'd say the majority do.

We've all had a reasonably good life for a while now without having to forgo much. Respect will live on forever for the countrymen that gave us the life we so lavishly enjoy today.

"Lest we forget"

geez, guys! this veteran almost forgot about it. :? thanks for the headsup..i think i'll have a cake :thumb:

maDDtraPPer said:

This week a new movie made in Canada is bieng released, for the first time a modern movie about the first world war from a Canadian perspective. I am looking forward to seeing it. In many regards the battle of PASSCHENDAELE is when Canada made her debute as a nation and on a personal note it's also the battle that my great grandfather recieved his death wound, at 42 years of age he was a grandfather to most of the men there. I hope that they don't make a mess of the movie with too much romance or nonesence.

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Went to see that film with my brother in law. We were both disappointed with it. Too much romance. The battle scenes were well done, but it lacked the historical military information needed to illustrate what WW1 was all about.

******* or beer?

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both

the aussie versions are a little low key 8O

Europe has everyone beat on both those fronts

:lol:

We can only hope that we are not heading down the path to WWIII. However it is done around the world, remembering the past has got to be the best way to prevent it. Surely those that are pushing in that direction realise how the consequences of an all-out have changed since last time.

A wise man said recently "Old habits with new technology mean unpredictable outcomes".

Neil_E. said:

maDDtraPPer said:

This week a new movie made in Canada is bieng released, for the first time a modern movie about the first world war from a Canadian perspective. I am looking forward to seeing it. In many regards the battle of PASSCHENDAELE is when Canada made her debute as a nation and on a personal note it's also the battle that my great grandfather recieved his death wound, at 42 years of age he was a grandfather to most of the men there. I hope that they don't make a mess of the movie with too much romance or nonesence.

Click to expand...

Went to see that film with my brother in law. We were both disappointed with it. Too much romance. The battle scenes were well done, but it lacked the historical military information needed to illustrate what WW1 was all about.

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Sounds about right, hollywood making a big floopsy movie that is all show and scenes and misses the point of the whole exercise, television would be better off turned around to face the wall, watching the back would be more intellectually engrossing (generally).

Azza.