[OT] Rememberance Day

I'll risk being OT for the list (just the once, mind....). The following is a
personal sentiment I'm sharing but reflects only my own 0.02.

It is coming up to Remeberance day (3:22 mins off by my clock). I just wanted
to extend my sincere prayers for each and every list member who is currently
serving somewhere for a safe return (Los, John A, Magic, and any others) from
duty stations. Keep your heads down, stay sharp, and get back in one piece.

I'd also like to take this moment to thank them and the other list members who
have worn the uniform throughout the last few decades, from whatever nations
they may be from. The countries may vary, as may the uniforms, but the men and
women retain a certain commonality
of spirit and values (duty, honour, courage, comradeship, self-
sacrifice) worth honouring.

And, most importantly, I'd like to remember people like my Grandfather who
served underage in the "The Great War" and the Occupation and who, despite
experiencing horrors my mind can't really encompass, managed to retain the
understanding that the enemy soldier was no more or less evil than he was. He
didn't come back from that war without deep and lasting emotional scars (and
the physical effects of being mustard gassed) which we mostly didn't discover
until he was in his 90s, but he managed to keep that side of the war from his
family and from his Grandson when he was growing up. For sharing of himself
with me and protecting me from the horrors until I
was old enough to understand them myself - thanks Grandad.

I'm not going to comment on good or bad or just or unjust wars. Rememberance
Day isn't about that for me. It is about remembering the sacrifices of those
who have gone before, on whose shoulders we now stand, and from whom we have
received the torch and the task of making the world a bit better. It is about
remembering the individuals, their stories, and remembering the lessons of the
past so that we need not relearn them in the future.

See you guys on the 12th.

Veterans' Day (formerly 'Armistice Day', 'Remembrance Day' in Canada)

November 11, is the anniversary of the Armistice which was signed in the
Forest of Compiegne by the Allies and the Germans in 1918, ending World War I,
after four years of conflict.

At 5 A.M. on Monday, November 11, 1918 the Germans signed the Armistice, an
order was issued for all firing to cease; so the hostilities of the First
World War ended. This day began with the laying down of arms, blowing of
whistles, impromptu parades, closing of places of business. All over the globe
there were many demonstrations; no doubt the world has never before witnessed
such rejoicing.

In November of 1919, President Woodrow Wilson issued his Armistice Day
proclamation. The last paragraph set the tone for future observances:

"To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn
pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with
gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed
us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy
with peace and justice in the councils of the nation."

The name was changed to Veterans' Day by Act of Congress on May 24, 1954. In
October of that year, President Eisenhower called on all citizens to observe
the day by remembering the sacrifices of all those who fought so gallantly,
and through rededication to the task of promoting an enduring peace. The
President referred to the change of name to Veterans' Day in honor of the
servicemen of all America's wars.

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It's not just a day that other people have off.....

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-=Kr'rt

[quoted original message omitted]

I'm embarrassed at myself - for the first time in five years I missed
the live Rememberance Day service downtown, and for no better reason than
being disorganized this morning.

I've just watched the national service from Ottawa on CBC, live, so it's
better than nothing. I just wish the two commentators hadn't talked all thru
the pipe & drum band marchpast... Ottawa got a good crowd in the rain, which
is always good to see.

I just wish I'd been in our crowd downtown!