One Hundred Years Ago Today Canadian Infantry Saved the Day

[sumdumguy]

National Post Article jolted me when I think that such a short time ago we were fighting battles with horses and swords. We’ve been alive almost 70 of those years and look at the advances, my Good God! If anyone can look at the article it may be worth your time.

[Misterjade9]

Do you think the next 100 years will bring the same amount of change?. Or has society gotten complacent and lethargic?

[sumdumguy]

As I was driving to the airport, I thought if only my car had a jet engine and I could just load the car up and push a button, take out my Ipad, lean the seat back, and find myself in Salt Lake in an hour or so. Wouldn’t that be cool? With autonomous cars and gps, fuel cells, are we far off? What a century the 20 th century was! Stem cell, organ transplant, cataract surgery in minutes, holy crow, what will the 21century bring? The other day I witnessed a shocking sight, a man with both lower legs gone, fitted with perfect prosthesis, with mountain boots just jogging along Victoria Ave, no problem navigating the icy banks along the edge. He turns around to help an old guy with a cane. What a sight - with two steel pegs exposed

[buzz]

I found the story you mentioned - First World War story i had never heard of. Thanks for sharing.
Proud to be a Canadian and grateful I have never had to ride into the enemy's fire.

http://nationalpost.com/opinion/a-hundred-years-ago-today-on-the-western-front-75-canadian-cavalrymen-saved-the-day http://nationalpost.com/opinion/a-hundred-years-ago-today-on-the-western-front-75-canadian-cavalrymen-saved-the-day

[sumdumguy]

Thanx Buzz. Just 100 winters ago - seems unreal.

[Misterjade9]

I was not familiar with this battle either, just another example of our amazing military history. One that we should be extremely proud of.

[Flatlander]

Excerpt from my great uncles autobiography.
August 8,1917.“That afternoon we saw the first of two sights that will probably not be seen again.Off to our left cavalry went galloping forward for two or three hours-I never knew there were that many horses in the world but it was a wonderful sight. The next event occurred three days later and it probably involved the same cavalry..... then occurred the second event previously mentioned. The night the British division went through us we bivouaced in the open country under our poncho sheets or gun limbers. Just before dark the cavalry that had gone forward three days earlier, began to come back past us to the rear left. It was a wonderful sight because they moved in perfect order except that some horses were riderless and others maintained spaces where horses had become casualties. How they did it I do not know but it was as if they were on parade ground.”

[dak7]

It almost seems like yesterday when people post their relatives observations.
My grandfather
served in WWI in France and somehow survived.

Never wanted to talk about his experiences when I was young. I wished I had been more persistent to learn about his experiences.

It makes my problems seem trivial in comparison.

[foragefarmer]

Great thread Sum! Thanks!

Maybe those who bitch and whine how (supposedly) bad we have it in Canada read a story like this once in awhile to put things into perspective.

[RTK]

The problem is not really the bitching and whining about our problems today... it is looking back at what our “foreperson’s” fought for and did for this country and then looking at what we are becoming as nation and what we doing to to this nation that makes me upset. I think we are disrespecting the past sacrifices and that is the problem.