Janey

Today is Remembrance Day. Where were you at 11:00? I made it down to the city hall.

It was a very moving ceremony, everybody had a poppy on, there was a flyby by 3 old Harvards, in missing pilot formation with one trailing smoke.

In Flanders Fields was read out, followed by the Last Post on trumpet, and then 2 minutes of silence, which was followed by bagpipes playing the Lament.

These always make me cry.

Bill O'Rights

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.

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"I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires." - Susan B. Anthony

"Hedonism with rules isn't hedonism at all, it's the Republican party." - JumpinJesus

It is indisputable that true beauty lies within...but a nice rack sure doesn't hurt.

mo42

Wait, what is Remembrance Day? Is it a Canadian thing, or did they not teach me it in school, or is it a recent thing?

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bookerV

I was at a ceremony that is held every year here at my work. It's a crazy thing to think about what happened...

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Memalvada

Its the day that marks the end of WWI, right?
hooray for peace

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Zeraph

It's not 11:00 yet here...

maleficent

It's technically dedicated to members of the armed forces who were killed during war.

It's Veteran's Day in the US (formerly known as Armistice Day) but all the allied countries celebrate it? Is celebrate the right word?

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Averett

Marks the end of WWI. (edit cause WWII means the 2nd world war, and I know it's the first. Stupid fingers wanting to type more than they should. There they go again!)

It's called Veterns Day here in the US. My Grandpa always had a poppy hanging from his rearview mirror. Those kinds that had a VFW ribbon attached to it. I picked up a poppy in Niagara Falls last weekend, I think I'll keep it on my coat for awhile.

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ARTelevision

I always remember and I also make it a point to thank the service men and women for their service to us all when I encounter them in my daily life.

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mo42

I guess it *is* Veteran's Day today. Too bad the University doesn't give us days off for anything except Thanksgiving and Spring Break. I hope our guys can come back from Iraq soon.

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Janey

thanks B'o'R for the poem. It's very moving. And thanks Averett for posting the information. It's not just canadian, I know americans do call it Veteran's Day, I'm not sure about the rest of the world (or what it is in Germany)

According to the radio, Remembrance Day ceremonies have been taking place every year here, since 1918 and now incorporates WW2 vets and the Korean conflict Vets. I often wondered how it was observed during WW2.

I know I remember the assemblies at school when i was a kid, where we all sat in the aud or the cafeteria, and listened to Flanders Fields, and a trumpeter would stand in the hallway and play the last post, followed by the silence, then Oh Canada.

The Veterens have been selling poppies outside of stores and in malls for the past 2 weeks.

maleficent

I ran out earlier for a bit, to pick up some antihistamines, and noticed one of the stores proclaiming a Veteran's Day Sale going on... It just seems so incredibly wrong for businesses to use a day where people who sacraficed their lives, to use it as a money making event... Honestly have to wonder how long it will be, before there are 9/11 sales days... :disgusted with some of the human race:

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PayUp

I saw the same thing today. What a brain fart! Talk about disrespect. Thank you corporate america for using our soldiers as marketing tools. Gonna start ranting so I better call it quits now.....

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spindles

We (in Oz) mark rememberance day, but our big "thank the troops" day is Anzac day (25th April) which is the anniversary of the landing in Turkey early in WWI - Australia and New Zealand's first involvement in the conflict.

"The last post" has to be one of the most moving/haunting pieces of music ever.

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JJRousseau

Veteran's Day sale ?! Yikes. I don't think we (in Canada) have hit that low yet. Many stores are closed for the day.

ratbastid

"Observe" might be more appropriate...

Here's to veterans!

byesman

"In a corner of some foreign field, a gunner sleeps tonight..."

Spindles, just watched a show on the history channel on that, how the Turks were waiting for the British and ANZAC troops to start disembarking from the ships, then machine gun them. One company of 1000 men lost over 500 BEFORE they hit they beach, they were Fuseliers, and they became known as the "6 VC (Victoria Cross) before breakfast" regiment.

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If after I depart this vale you ever remember me and have thought to please my ghost,
forgive some sinner, and wink your eye at some homely girl.

H.L. Mencken

amonkie

This is certainly not the case in the U.S., as I had to spend my day off from school working all day. But I did call one of my old teachers who is a vet, men are never too old to cry from genuine shock.

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spindles

Yep - very high casualty rate. You gotta wonder what kind of general sends his troops straight up a steep slope to a well defended entrenchment

It is one place I would really love to visit (one day when I have some money). My wife has been there and she reckons it was one of the saddest places she has ever visited.

The movie "Gallipoli" starring a rather unknown guy called Mel Gibson (in his younger days) shows a pretty good portrayal of what went on there.

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archer

Often pompous British generals, commanding Australian troops.
Also, generals who screw up and land on the wrong beach .

As for where I was, I had the day off, so I went down to the local RSL.
Drinkin' with the diggers is always the way to go IMO.

Bill O'Rights

There is one store, here in Omaha...I think it's a furmiture store, but it doesn't really matter, that offer an additional 7% off their already low Veterans Day sale prices, to any veteran that can prove military service. Not that that's not still all screwed up...but at least it's something.

I remember, when I was much younger (keep in mind how old I am) that the VFW used to sell paper poppies for something like $1.00. Mom always bought me one. I haven't seen that in years, but I'm glad to hear that the Canadians still do it. I wish that we would go back to that. I truly believe that we've lost something along the way, and I'd really like to get it back.

__________________
"I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires." - Susan B. Anthony

"Hedonism with rules isn't hedonism at all, it's the Republican party." - JumpinJesus

It is indisputable that true beauty lies within...but a nice rack sure doesn't hurt.

Averett

Bill, last weekend nearly every person I saw (in Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Waterloo/kitchner) had a poppy pinned to their jacket. It was really quite nice to see. I don't remember it ever being like that here, but I do remember seeing them a bit. This year I didn't see anyone selling them at all

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Janey

Change the word 'Australian' to 'Canadian' and you begin to understand our experience in places like Paschendale and The Sommes, or Ypres. We are taught in history that the Brits liked use soldiers of their empire as the 'vanguard' or 'Shock Troops' in dicy situations to better preserve their own country men. I think that this is what directly led to the Statute of Westminster in 1931, when Canada finally broke free of the British government.

Here's some poppy history:


http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch...membrance.html

this is what our poppies look like: http://www.mikesjournal.com/Poppy.jpg
that one has a green centre, the current ones have black centres:

http://www.mikesjournal.com/poppy%20black.jpg

You usually give a buck to a vet who is sellling them on the streets. They ALWAYS fall off of your clothes, so I end up buying 1 each day. This is fine, as I don't mind giving them money.


http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/youth/sub.c...esources/poppy
http://canada.kos.net/remembrance.html

TheBrit

A friend gave me a Canadian one, he was given a few while bagpiping for a Canadian remembrance parade.
In Britain they are more like
that, except they don't come folded up in the middle. Give a donation, get one, and pin it on.
Loads of people died during WW1, I expect there was a bit of British Generals being ruthless arseholes, as they are during every war (it's mildly effective).

tropple

At 11 AM on the 11th of November, 1918, hostilities in the First World War ended. The treaty ending the war was signed at 5 am that morning. It became known as generally Armistice Day or Rememberance Day (morphing to other names as time passed).

My grandfather used to tell me about the First World War when I was still enamored with the thought of being a hero (as opposed to being a sneaky throat cutter). He was in the Canadian Army for five years. At the start, he was only given 20 bullets per day. 20! I can't imagine going into shit with only that and a big fricking bayonet.

Yes, truly, the majority of British generals were complete cockups. Their most endearing trait (not) was the complete idiocy of their strategy and the treatment of the troops as little more than glorified pikemen. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the Allied generals were asshats, too. The Allies won becasue of their vast resource pool (men, material, manufacturing, oil).

That was a pretty stupid war, IMHO.

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Stick

All wars are pretty fucking stupid.

When I was a kid (the 60's) I remember this old bloke who had half his face blown away. My Granny told me that was old Mr. (I've forgotten his name) who was a hero in the "Great War". I wish we didn't have to have heroes.