Wear a poppy

[peter12]

Magnum PEI, do you honestly believe that our alliance with Russia was anything more than a convenience? Have you read about the massive scale of battles in the Eastern Theatre? There is no way the Western allies could have borne the brunt of that fighting without Russia.

[Flamenspiel]

This thread is pathetic. So I'll say this, if there are any Canadian vets who look at this thread, I love you guys and girls, every one of you. Great job!

[HPLovecraft]

Originally Posted by Flamenspiel

This thread is pathetic. So I'll say this, if there are any Canadian vets who look at this thread, I love you guys and girls, every one of you. Great job!

I do think a worthy and valid discussion is whether the simple fact of having been a veteran means you are worthy of praise, or the mere act of signing up for soldier-dom makes you a hero, as is sometimes thought and felt by people.

If you've committed war crimes while overseas, should I praise you? I don't feel I should, and I don't feel every soldier does a great job, or even a good job. Some have done heroic deeds, some have done a mixture of the heroic and the disgusting. I personally feel the blind adulation of any military makes war and those that wage war into a black and white issue when it can only truthfully be described as grey.

I personally treat Remembrance Day as a somber day to reflect on both the good and bad of war, and to pay my respects to those that have suffered through it, all over the world, not just in Canada, on all sides of conflicts (that means Germans, too). I feel uncomfortable treating it as a sort of "Victory Day" like some might, or as a celebration and continuation of military culture, as others may.

I suppose, to me, personally, Remembrance Day brings up a whole host of mixed feelings. Some may not like that, and believe it to be traitorous, or a sign of pacifism, but I feel that, to remain intellectually and emotionally honest with myself, there is no other way for me to remember and think of war.

[Cowperson]

My original post should have been taken in its totality, which wasn't one of "bragging" but rather the story of one common man who did his duty and more, then paid for it for the rest of his days with memories many of us wouldn't have been able to endure.

An all to common tale.

On the other hand, I just finished reading "American Sniper." Now that's a different cat. We'll have to see how he's holding up 20 years from now when the buzz goes down a bit.

The American public in particular rightly carries a collective guilt about the way it damned its Vietnam veterans. The so-called "fawning" you see today is still a lingering result of that.

Nevertheless, I am genuinely grateful for the service provided not only by those who died, but those who lived defending the right for people to be doofuses in this thread.

You have more to be thankful for because of them.

Cowperson

[Fluffy Bunnies]

Originally Posted by HPLovecraft

I do think a worthy and valid discussion is whether the simple fact of having been a veteran means you are worthy of praise, or the mere act of signing up for soldier-dom makes you a hero, as is sometimes thought and felt by people.

If you've committed war crimes while overseas, should I praise you? I don't feel I should, and I don't feel every soldier does a great job, or even a good job. Some have done heroic deeds, some have done a mixture of the heroic and the disgusting. I personally feel the blind adulation of any military makes war and those that wage war into a black and white issue when it can only truthfully be described as grey.

I personally treat Remembrance Day as a somber day to reflect on both the good and bad of war, and to pay my respects to those that have suffered through it, all over the world, not just in Canada, on all sides of conflicts (that means Germans, too). I feel uncomfortable treating it as a sort of "Victory Day" like some might, or as a celebration and continuation of military culture, as others may.

I suppose, to me, personally, Remembrance Day brings up a whole host of mixed feelings. Some may not like that, and believe it to be traitorous, or a sign of pacifism, but I feel that, to remain intellectually and emotionally honest with myself, there is no other way for me to remember and think of war.

Thank you for hitting the nail so succinctly on the head. This is more what I was trying to get across.

[flamesfever]

I don't know why but every time I see young soldiers marching by, I can't help my eyes from filling up with tears. I guess it's knowing what those before them went through, and what they also might have to go through some day.

In WW1 one uncle was killed, while another suffered serious lung damage from mustard gas. In WW2 I lost another uncle, killed on the beaches of Sicily, serving as a medic. I still remember my mother crying when she got the news that her brother had been killed in action.

I think we honour them best by working together to make the world a better place.

[pylon]

I have to say, in my time on this site, this thread is the all time low. Embarrassing actually.

Shame on anyone, that disrespects our vets and servicemen. The sad thing is, the spineless twerps that do, would be the first people in line shamelessly begging for their assistance if we were ever invaded, or if they were ever in a position abroad where they needed them.