Remembrance Day....

[TOM4CWB]

Sorry CP...

I am breaking my word... but...

AS someone who is rubbed raw...

With family who died fighting in WW2...

Being Bullied and rubbed raw... I can't never forget...

ever.

Thx and SorryCP.

Over and Out.

[malleefarmer]

good thread guys.
my grandfather and his two bothers went to Gallipoli and fought and survived somehow then onto ypres battle fields as mentioned above and france two brothers never came back grandpa did.
then my father trained as a rear gunner radio operator/code breaker I think for 18 mths in Australia Canada and uk after all the training was shot down over Baltic sea on first mission had to bail out. Spent a few years in camps not quite ymca.... Strangely I didn't keep up the tradition. Any one want to google "hedykrug run up the road" or another "Baltic cruise 1942" they may not be correct title, another "the long march" all my Canadian connections before you guys was his pow mates and there families all on farms. whilst im telling stories one of his favourite pow stories he used to tell me "you never know how dumb you are until you meet a Rhodes scholar" One of his best mates in pow camp was one and they used to play chess with improvised pieces and board to pass time, any way dad used to be on bottom bunk and the Rhodes scholar on top bunk, dad or whoever was on bottom would make there move tell him were they moved it, then he would tell the bottom bunkee to move his piece and he never ever saw the board but was undefeated chees champion of stalg luft 5 6 7 cant remebr the rest chgeers guys sorry for the novel yes remember them

[malleefarmer]

good thread guys.
my grandfather and his two bothers went to Gallipoli and fought and survived somehow then onto ypres battle fields as mentioned above and france two brothers never came back grandpa did.
then my father trained as a rear gunner radio operator/code breaker I think for 18 mths in Australia Canada and uk after all the training was shot down over Baltic sea on first mission had to bail out. Spent a few years in camps not quite ymca.... Strangely I didn't keep up the tradition. Any one want to google "hedykrug run up the road" or another "Baltic cruise 1942" they may not be correct title, another "the long march" all my Canadian connections before you guys was his pow mates and there families all on farms. whilst im telling stories one of his favourite pow stories he used to tell me "you never know how dumb you are until you meet a Rhodes scholar" One of his best mates in pow camp was one and they used to play chess with improvised pieces and board to pass time, any way dad used to be on bottom bunk and the Rhodes scholar on top bunk, dad or whoever was on bottom would make there move tell him were they moved it, then he would tell the bottom bunkee to move his piece and he never ever saw the board but was undefeated chees champion of stalg luft 5 6 7 cant remebr the rest chgeers guys sorry for the novel yes remember them

[BreadWinner]

My grandfather was in the ww2 for three long years. He had the terrible job of malaria control. He trudged trough the swamps in Italy spraying DDT from backpacks just to control insects. Later he drove a 3ton truck with a sprayer on the back to spray the roadsides and camps. Flysol and DDT were the sprays of choice to control the nasty bugs. There was no rubber gloves or spray masks in those days. He kept a diary, it was quite the read. There were many nights that he wrote that the germans were shelling all around him. He helped liberate Holland. He saw allot of things good and bad, but he never talked about the war to anyone.

[alwayshasbeen]

Grandpa was an American who moved to Canada at a young age. When the Canadian forces wouldn't allow him to enlist as a 17 yr old he went back to the US and joined the navy. He helped operate the USS Boxer aircraft carrier in the Pacific. He told us some stories but it always ended with Grandma stopping him because she could tell how worked up he got. He struggled with alcohol his whole life. After the Pacific, he went on to fight with Canada in the Korean conflict. I laid a wreath for him yesterday at our local service with his dogtags in hand.

These remembrance day services are what makes me proudest to be a Canadian. Our town has recently had 20 Phillipino families move to town and most of them must have been at the service. I watched as they got choked up when the ministers talked about the sacrifice these soldiers endured for our freedom. These immigrants understand how lucky they are to be given a chance to live in this beautiful country like we do. After WW2 ended grandpa and the USS boxer were stationed in the Phillipines for a while as the war wound down. This all came full circle for me yesterday as I thought about how far these brave mens efforts went. Was a good day to reflect on how thankful I am to be able to raise my family here.

[sawfly]

must have had 8-10 aunts and uncles ,
in ww2, one gassed in ww1
i think only about 3 were in the thick of it. one of dads brother"S was on d day invasion .
my moms oldest brother, navy on convoys
said he was scared to death every second.
an uncle by marriage was a medic , going thru Italy. he had night mares the rest of his life.
they all survived though

[cottonpicken]

My rantings where to show the insanity of it all. With the way the world is going i hate the thought of one of my sons getting shipped of to fight in a foreign land. No disrespect of anyone was ment.

[farmaholic]

Modern warfare is a bit different in that the need for "boots on the ground" aren't required to near the same extent. War is alot more accurate than it ever was. But I guess there will always be a need to go in and dig out the rats.

[RTK]

Just read these posts; made me think about what I did to remember - sadly I just complained over coffee about Justin T; and worked in my shop. I am ashamed that I never took a moment to remember. Tommorrow I am going to right that and stop at 11:00 and take a moment to reflect and be thankful for what others have given and what others still sacrifice for my freedom.