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Veteran's Day

Go-Fly

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A few years back I went to Arlington National Cemetery to see my best friend in high school that died in service. Also my family has many members buried there as well. We lost over 3/4 of the men in our family in WW2, some are in Arlington, most are over seas, some went down with their ship. All were first in and didn't cycle out. They stayed to the end and finished the job, live or die. I spent a lot of time with my uncles that survived. The time of my life growing up. I always wonder what it would of been like if, my other uncles would have lived. They didn't want metals, movies or recognition. All they wanted was freedom and were willing to die for it and did. Now I see people wanting to give those freedoms away like they are an inconvenience. Makes me want to slap the shit out of some people. Just say thank you.
 

Mototrig

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Flag planting at Forest Lawn Cemetery on the headstones of veterans'.
Happy veterans day and thank you for your service

IMG_20191109_090743.jpg
 

Lunatic Fringe

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In Flanders Fields
BY JOHN MCCRAE

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.
 

nameisbond

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Yes.
Are your kids off school today?
Kids here no longer get today off.
What a disgrace.

In Canada its a similar day here, except our main focus is more like Memorial Day in the states. When I was in school, it wasn't a day off, unless you had a parent in the police or military. We had the entire school assemble in the gym. We watched documentaries on WWI and II. We even had veterans speak after the documentaries. When I started school, some of vets of WWI spoke. It was 1977. Now they are all gone. It won't be long before all the WWII vets are gone. I wish our schools still did this!!!!!
 

rrrr

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In Flanders Fields
BY JOHN MCCRAE

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.

"In Flanders Fields" is a WWI poem, written in 1915 by Major John McCrae, an artillery officer in the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

He is said to have written it after the death in battle of a close friend, which occurred during the Second Battle of Ypres. The destroyed village would be the site of four intense battles over the course of the war, including the bloody Battle of Passchendaele, which began on July 31, 1917.

Those four battles produced almost a million casualties, including about 300,000 deaths. The artillery shelling was so intense it destroyed every structure and tree for miles around, and when the Battle of Passchendaele was at its peak, it rained heavily for several days. The tens of thousands of shell holes filled with water, which caused the drowning deaths of an estimated 20,000 personnel.

This is a photo taken near Ypres during the 1917 battle. Entire forests were blasted into kindling wood.

v36_00000002.jpg


Some of the trenches and shell craters still exist to this day, 102 years later. This photo was taken in 2016.

main_1200.jpg


More photos taken in the last few years are here:

https://amp.theatlantic.com/amp/photo/561353/

WWI was brutal beyond compare. Eleven million soldiers were killed during the conflict, about 6,700 every day for 4½ years.

I posted this to raise awareness of WWI and to provide an indication of how horrible it was. While the number of battle deaths in WWII exceeded those of WWI, the battle area of the second war was much larger, making a direct comparison difficult.

Today is the day we remember all of those who have fought in our Armed Forces. Since July 19, 1776, the date a Colonial militia fought with British soldiers at the North Bridge in Concord, MA, the men and women in uniform have defended our country and kept the light of freedom burning brightly.

Let them know you appreciate their service.
 

Echo Lodge

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In Canada its a similar day here, except our main focus is more like Memorial Day in the states. When I was in school, it wasn't a day off, unless you had a parent in the police or military. We had the entire school assemble in the gym. We watched documentaries on WWI and II. We even had veterans speak after the documentaries. When I started school, some of vets of WWI spoke. It was 1977. Now they are all gone. It won't be long before all the WWII vets are gone. I wish our schools still did this!!!!!

My Canadian ski friends brought this to my attention.

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/s...-cherry-fired-comments-immigrants/2567386001/

 

nameisbond

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MisplacedSooner

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Yes.
Are your kids off school today?
Kids here no longer get today off.
What a disgrace.

Happy Veterans Day! While our school was not out, every year they have a Veterans Day program at the school. K-12 are involved. The kids sing songs, the band plays, local VFW is heavily involved, they present flags to local veterans. And we have a prayer at the end. This still happens in Public Schools where I live. We even opened up the program by saying the pledge of allegiance. This is why I love living in a fly over state.
 

Bullet28

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Thank You to all that have served, and to those that are currently serving our country.
 

Mandelon

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On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 an armistice between Germany and the Allied nations came into effect. On November 11, 1919, Armistice Day was commemorated for the first time. In 1919, President Wilson proclaimed the day should be "filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory". There were plans for parades, public meetings and a brief suspension of business activities at 11am.

In 1926, the United States Congress officially recognized the end of World War I and declared that the anniversary of the armistice should be commemorated with prayer and thanksgiving. The Congress also requested that the president should "issue a proclamation calling upon the officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on November 11 and inviting the people of the United States to observe the day in schools and churches, or other suitable places, with appropriate ceremonies of friendly relations with all other peoples."

An Act (52 Stat. 351; 5 U. S. Code, Sec. 87a) was approved on May 13, 1938, which made November 11 in each year a legal holiday, known as Armistice Day. This day was originally intended to honor veterans of World War I. A few years later, World War II required the largest mobilization of service men in the history of the United States and the American forces fought in Korea. In 1954, the veterans service organizations urged Congress to change the word "Armistice" to "Veterans". Congress approved this change and on June 1, 1954, November 11 became a day to honor all American veterans, where ever and whenever they had served.

In 1968 the Uniforms Holiday Bill (Public Law 90-363 (82 Stat. 250)) made an attempt to move Veterans Day to the fourth Monday of October. The bill took effect in 1971. However, this caused a lot of confusion as many states disagreed with this decision and continued to hold Veterans Day activities on November 11. In 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed Public Law 94-97 (89 Stat. 479), which stated that Veterans Day would again be observed on November 11 from 1978 onwards. Veterans Day is still observed on November 11.
 

KevinR

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"In Flanders Fields" is a WWI poem, written in 1915 by Major John McCrae, an artillery officer in the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

He is said to have written it after the death in battle of a close friend, which occurred during the Second Battle of Ypres. The destroyed village would be the site of four intense battles over the course of the war, including the bloody Battle of Passchendaele, which began on July 31, 1917.

Those four battles produced almost a million casualties, including about 300,000 deaths. The artillery shelling was so intense it destroyed every structure and tree for miles around, and when the Battle of Passchendaele was at its peak, it rained heavily for several days. The tens of thousands of shell holes filled with water, which caused the drowning deaths of an estimated 20,000 personnel.

This is a photo taken near Ypres during the 1917 battle. Entire forests were blasted into kindling wood.

v36_00000002.jpg


Some of the trenches and shell craters still exist to this day, 102 years later. This photo was taken in 2016.

main_1200.jpg


More photos taken in the last few years are here:

https://amp.theatlantic.com/amp/photo/561353/

WWI was brutal beyond compare. Eleven million soldiers were killed during the conflict, about 6,700 every day for 4½ years.

I posted this to raise awareness of WWI and to provide an indication of how horrible it was. While the number of battle deaths in WWII exceeded those of WWI, the battle area of the second war was much larger, making a direct comparison difficult.

Today is the day we remember all of those who have fought in our Armed Forces. Since July 19, 1776, the date a Colonial militia fought with British soldiers at the North Bridge in Concord, MA, the men and women in uniform have defended our country and kept the light of freedom burning brightly.

Let them know you appreciate their service.

Whenever in Kanas City be sure to see the WWI Museum. Awesome and humbling.
 

KevinR

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Our son, on the far left, sent us this photo today, remembering special brothers. They were one of the machine gun fire teams in his platoon, running point for Bravo Company 1-63. Fort Stryker, Baghdad, 2008-2009. Brought back a lot of emotions and gratitude to God for bringing he and those in his company home.

CF3D6274-B506-4865-BA9E-EC323593F795.jpeg
D90915DA-673C-4BFC-AE62-80CE72569A0E.jpeg
 

MisplacedSooner

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Whenever in Kanas City be sure to see the WWI Museum. Awesome and humbling.

I live in KC and drive by the monument quite often, definitely very humbling. I know and get that the WW2 vets are called the greatest but you look back on all of our history and they should all be remembered as the greatest. That’s the way I will treat all of them that have served. My dad received a quilt of valor for his service in Vietnam.https://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/29...hing-out-and-comforting-a-fellow-human-being/
 

Lunatic Fringe

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IMG_20170623_162330_684.jpg
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Normandy American Cemetery on Omaha Beach.
A stunningly sobering area to visit.
To be able to walk through the bunkers on the cliffs above the beaches really drives home what D-Day was for so many young men.
 
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