The 11th hour or the 11th day of the 11th month has just passed a short time ago: Remembrance Day here in Canada...My grandmother told me of her memories of seeing soldiers returning from WW1 with terrible wounds, that war was probably the most horrible in terms of deaths and casualties, and Canada, being a part of the British Empire was there right at the beginning and contributed significantly to that effort. If you ever want to read a great book about the origins of that insane war (and the precursor, if not cause of WW2, read Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August, the missed opportunities and frightful wrong turns are heartbreaking. Here is the famous poem by Canadian poet John McCrea (who died shortly after writing it): In Flanders Field 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. John McCrae
^Not really. If the Nazi's were successful, the would've certainly brought their fight to the North America, and even if unsuccessful here, Canada and the U.S would have to be dealing with them constantly economically and physically. The war was to protect our asses and our allies, I don't even know how you can say that. I don't believe in murder, but when you are doing it to protect other people it is not wrong. Honestly the U.S has been involved in a lot of stupid wars, but that doesn't mean other countries follow suit. Canada's only mistake is Afghanistan. We didn't go to Vietnam, or Iraq. Both times. To say it was for money and the rich is beyond asinine. Pick up a book. My grandfather was fighting the axis before it was a world war, because his country was being torn apart, nearly all the jews in his home country were killed, on top of his people being massacred. I honestly don't know how you could think that people were involved to make others money. You need to talk to someone that actually has been involved or is properly educated on that war before you make dumb comments like that. My great grandmother was raped infront of people of her community, watched her brother get killed, and had her gold fillings ripped out. So explain to me how the U.S gained money by stopping the Nazi's from doing things like this. To make things clear my family is from the Balkans, so what money was extracted from that region by the U.S or Canada. How did anyone besides people in the Balkans, or Western Europe, benefit from the allies involvement. People actually do believe in good, and people actually did want to stop Hitler from taking over, not for monetary gains, but to help innocent people.
Thank you Greatwhale for posting this. I used to live in Belgium where Remembrance Day is taken very seriously; in fact it’s a public holiday. Whilst I lived there, on several occasions I visited Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest Commonwealth military cemetery in the world, where 11,954 fallen soldiers are buried. Tyne Cot Cemetery, Zonnebeke, Ypres Salient Battlefields, Belgium It is a very moving experience being there, especially for someone who used to serve in the RAF and whose wife has a family member buried there. I take comfort from the fact that each time I have visited I have encountered visiting school trips that show children the reality of war; it’s not a video game. I hope that being surrounded by all the dead, many less that 20 years old, will help the children grow up not to repeat the mistakes of the past. Moving as Tyne Cot is, the real tear-jerker comes not far away every night at 8pm at the Menin Gate. Since 11th November, 1929 the Last Post Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate, Ieper - Ypres, Belgium has been sounded at the Menin Gate Memorial every night and in all weathers. The only exception to this was during the four years of the German occupation of Ypres from 20th May 1940 to 6th September 1944. The privilege of playing Last Post was given to buglers of the local volunteer Fire Brigade. I do not know how those guys manage to play without a tear in their eyes but they do, it’s very moving. http://www.greatwar.co.uk/westfront/ypsalient/meningate/lastpost.mp3 “They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them.” Sale Gay Guy
