Remembrance Day....

[Braveheart]

My Maternal Grandfather was at Vimy Ridge. He was wounded and suffered lung damage in a gas attack. I remember as a young boy Grandpa would spend weeks in the sanatorium with breathing difficulties. Lung disease eventually led to his death. He worked in the Legion Club (bar) and I'm sure the smoke in there didn't help.

My wife's uncle was killed in Germany, after liberating Holland, in the last days of the war. He was the only son, and the youngest. Nth family never really recovered. The loss changed them forever.

Leaping to present day, one my Karate classmates suffers from PTSD. He is a vet of Afghanistan. He has trouble finding employment. He is alive, and physically whole, but will never be the same as he once was.

I treasure our freedom. I do wish Canada supported our vets more though.

[farmaholic]

I was actually in a store at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. At that moment, over the store intercom was short statement regarding the significance of the day followed by the bugle call followed by the Beatles song "Imagine"..... thumbs up to the store for taking afew moments to observe what we take for granted.

[sumdumguy]

Our grandfather went to train as a bomber pilot at Yorkton at a ripe age of 20. He night bombed over Burma and India without instruments and had some of his crew killed, and still remembered their names when he was in his eighties. Luckily he came back alive as he was one of the few who survived. He came back to farm rented land and eventually bought land. We almost always had aircraft parked in our farmyard and the love of flying and farming is in our blood. We live a fortunate life because a lot of young men sacrificed for us. We remember.

[fjlip]

Also on one of the channels, an hour on the Iwo Jima battle between, US marines and Imperial Japanese. They have an annual joint remembrance day on the island to commemorate the 28000 killed from both sides.
Moving and comments that they are now friends. Japanese 90 year old and US 90 year old talking about their lives then and since. All of them want peace above all.

[fjlip]

Had two uncles involved in D Day, both survived, one wounded badly but kept hidden by French farm wife. Neither talked about much the war, not even to their own families. Very traumatic, they must have had a hard time to put the killing behind them and live their lives.

During the First war, both grandfathers were on the Austrian side against Canadians. Both survived, paternal grandfather was able to be friends with a Canadian Vet, and after discussing the war realized they were facing each other in the same battle. Glad they were not aiming at the other or poor shots. Same Canadian was Reeve of municipality and actually helped my immigrant grandparents monetarily to get settled in 1931.

Bet there are many stories out there.

[food4u]

I have an uncle buried in Tunisia. He was in the Air Force and on his second tour of duty. They were bombing Sicily and reloaded to make a second run. The plane exploded just after take off. It was the day after his 21st birthday. So thankful that none of our children have to experience this horror.Peace to all.

[cottonpicken]

And then the silence of the regular posters . As if it didn't pertain to them.the day of remeberance they Shirley hate.and they know tommorrow is a diffent morrow and all is forgot. Then the knew lies start and begin again tribe against tribe hate hate hate and our sons die again and again and agian until we are best friends with the Germans or japs or what ever tribe
Utter insanity

[Flatlander]

Grandfather was in second battle of Ypres. Caught a piece of shrapnel, went through his forearm. Recouped in england came back an Lt. in royal flying corps. Flew with a bunch of other Canadians and Brits, always stories of the antics during the downtime not so much of the action. His best buddies Claxton and McCall were both aces with distinguished records. Claxton was killed in action . William McCall came back to Canada and continued to be involved with air travel his whole life and the Calgary International Airport has him on a short list for naming the airport after him. Grandpa left the RFC a Captain and didn't fly again.

[farmaholic]

Cotton. What's up today? I know what your saying about the insanity of it all. Lives lost not by their own accord but by the will of the people in power, war mongers! The Military-Industrial complex needs a steady diet of conflict. It is an economy of its own. But the heaviest costs get paid in lives of civilians serving their Masters (the would like you to believe your country). While the Industrialists prosper.

As wrong and insane as it appears lets not disrespect those who did pay the ultimate price. Whether it was a true conflict to defeat tyranny or some of the more recent imaginary threats. Let's just hope that no one died in vain, that no matter which conflict, it was NEVER in vain.

The face of war/conflict has evolved with man itself, from sticks and stones, to spears and arrows, to primative guns, to high tech guns and bombs, to
high tech bombs to......

[freewheat]

Well, I am 39 years old. But my grandpa was born in 1896, in Germany. He fought in WWI. He fought FOR Germany. Kinda strange to think of it. I never met him, he died in 1974. I have a gold stop watch that is 101 years old that he received as wages when he was 18 and worked on a neighboring farm.

My dad said he did not ever talk about the war. Except once he was telling a story about how he was guarding a spot and heard sounds in the bushes and started shooting, and then he stopped talking and refused to continue with the story. He apparently saw stuff that made him swear off guns the rest of his life. Much to his chagrin my dad loved hunting, and grandpa would go to the house when he knew his son was going to take a shot at something in the yard. Hated the sound.

Who knows what memories it brought back? Kind of weird to have ancestors on the wrong side of history. I wish I could ask questions now, let me tell you. For all I know, he fought beside Hitler. Bizarre thoughts.

He came to Canada just in time in 1928. Much of his family got caught up in East Germany after WW2, and lived under the communist regime until the wall came down. I remember when my dad's uncle came to our farm in the early 80's and he saw our little D14 allis tractor hooked up to a 7 foot mower dad used to cut slough hay with. He was amazed at the size and the newness of the set up! lol

Anyway, whether on the right side, or the wrong side, I am thankful I personally never had to endure what some of these guys should not have had to endure.

I am thankful to those who to this day sign up and put themselves at risk, fighting and offering themselves in such a way.

Lest we forget....