They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old,Armistice Day became Veterans Day in 1954. The Worshipers of Mammon sought to make it into yet another three day weekend, but that was soon reversed. They still are at it, with "Veterans Day Sales" and similar bullshit. Everyone who is running a "Veterans Day Sale" should be consigned to a special circle of Hell, where they are forced to swim in lakes of molten gold or silver.
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
In the British Commonwealth, they do a much better job of remembering the day.
We should not forget that this day began to remember a day when peace broke out. When the shooting stopped. When the killing ceased. It is proper to remember those, living and dead, who have served the nation. It is not a day to glorify the wars that often made such service necessary, if not mandatory.
(Other things I've written for this day)
Whenever I’m “thanked for my service,” I reply with a “Thank you, the honor was mine.”
ReplyDeleteI always reply, "you're welcome, happy to do it."
ReplyDeleteI saw a Macy's ad on TV over the weekend for a Veterans Day furniture sale. I thought to myself, "how sad, that some folks think the only reason we served is so others can buy cheap furniture."
As bad as this crap is for Veterans Day, it really burns my ass for Memorial Day.
I am still serving in uniform as a FF/EMT, and on days off I ride with The Patriot Guard Riders doing flag lines and funeral escorts for veterans, LEO, and 1st Responders. Serving is in my DNA I guess.
The eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, of 1918. I was watching a live broadcast of a third tier Scottish Football game, and as at every other game, at every level, in Great Britain this weekend, they had a military representative to lay a wreath at the center spot and a bugler to sound “The Last Post”. This occurred regardless of if a game had 50 or 50,000 attending!
ReplyDeleteThe absolute silence stood distinctly apart from what passes as most moments of silence these days. We have certainly failed to properly remember the sacrifices and costs of war, but given our current state, that maybe isn’t surprising...the Vietnam War tore the connection the U.S. had with its veterans and military in a way that has never healed.
I was at a scifi convention over the weekend, and there were poppy pins available for all who wanted them. Thanks, Canadians!
ReplyDeleteThe remembrance on Armistice Day is a plot point in The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy Sayers.
ReplyDeleteFrom the Paul Simon song:
ReplyDelete"Armistice Day
Armistice Day
That's all I really wanted to say"
-Doug in Oakland
“They disembarked in 45
ReplyDeleteAnd no-one spoke and no-one smiled
There were to many spaces in the line.
Gathered at the cenotaph
All agreed with the hand on heart
To sheath the sacrificial Knifes.
But now
She stands upon Southampton dock
With her handkerchief
And her summer frock clings
To her wet body in the rain.
In quiet desperation knuckles
White upon the slippery reins
She bravely waves the boys Goodbye again.
And still the dark stain spreads between
His shoulder blades.
A mute reminder of the poppy fields and graves.
And when the fight was over
We spent what they had made.
But in the bottom of our hearts
We felt the final cut.”
Pink Floyd, The Final Cut.
I usually say "thank you for paying for it".
ReplyDeleteI'm proud of the bravery of my generation in Vietnam but the honor was diluted by judges saying to defendants "jail or the army", lowering troop quality and morale.
And by the lack of purpose of the war, the usual wartime racism, the corruption, and the brutal ecocidal nature of how our politicians chose to fight the war.
I am both proud and ashamed by our country's conduct. Proud of the bravery, toil, and sacrifice of the troops: and ashamed of their representatives sending them to fight for no good reason against people who were not our enemy.
Here's a music video I released yesterday at 11am, shot at Le Linge battlefield and Verdun this past summer. I was inspired to write the song by the true story of a French soldier who fought at Verdun. It honors the sacrifices soldiers make, and is also cautionary tale about how those sacrifices should not be wasted. I thought you might appreciate it, seeing how the sites look now.
ReplyDeleteOne Life (A Story of the Great War)