November 11th

[Bandit]

In 1914, my Grandfather answered his country's call for the young and
the brave to go to war against the Austro-Hungarian empire. He
survived The Great War - the "War to end all Wars" in the British
Navy. This war saw the introduction of some of the more modern horrors
as the tank, poison gas, the machine gun and trench warfare.

In 1939, my Father again answered his country's call to go to war
again, this time against Hitler's armies. As a tail gunner in a
Lancaster bomber, he watched his friends die as his squadron was
attacked by the ME-262 squadrons. This war ushered in the horrors
known as Sarin, Death Camps, Jet fighters, ballistic missiles, and the
atomic bomb. 60 years after D-Day, he still does not talk about it -
and I know it haunts him - I've heard him in his sleep.

Mine is the first generation in almost a century who has not been
asked by his country to pay the ultimate price. For this I'm eternally
grateful to those who have gone before me.

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in
1918, the Armistice that ended the First World War was signed. The
tradition of a minute of silence to remember those who paid the
ultimate price for freedom is still observed here. The CPR has all its
trains stop for two minutes at 11, followed by a 30-second blast of
the horn as a salute. Transit services pause for a minute at 11.
Through most of the country (shamefully not in my province), stores
and businesses are closed, "The Last Post" resounds as a nation
remembers those who paid for our freedom with their blood. And we give thanks to those
who are currently in the military and wish them Godspeed to get back
home in one piece. I have been to the National Remembrance day
ceremony at the Cenotaph in Ottawa and I can safely say that it was
one of the most moving things I have ever been a part of.

So, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, I
will pause for a minute of silence, even at work. In that minute, I
will thank those who came before me, say a prayer for all the men and
women honouring their flag by serving, and hope to God that I never
have to see any of the next generation have to answer the call of a
nation.

With deep respect to all veterans and all those who have served - and those who gave everything they had.

This is one post I will always post my name to.

John

[Spiffy McMoron]

*Spiffy observes a moment of silence at 11 am, local time*


In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

[One-Fang]

I had passed that moment in local time before reading the post, but will say "Amen!" to the sentiment within.

[Saydrah]

*observes a moment of silence at 11:11, which just happens to be when I read this*

[Jester]

Bandit, that was a wonderful post, and I salute the sentiment embodied within it. And I salute your forbears.

However....

Mine is the first generation in almost a century who has not been asked by his country to pay the ultimate price. For this I'm eternally
grateful to those who have gone before me.

You are mistaken.

It has not been "almost a century" since this country has asked its citizens to "pay the ultimate price."

At least not in this country. I realize you are Canadian, so this may not be totally accurate for you, but in the U.S., we have had to deal with the Vietnam War in the Sixties and Seventies, the first Persian Gulf War in the early Nineties, and the current (and seemingly neverending) second Persian Gulf War currently. Not to mention the war in Afghanistan.

So while we thank those who came before us, let us not forget that these such sacrificies continue to this day. I only wish we were so lucky as to be the first generation in a hundred years to NOT be called to war.

I doubt that that has ever happened in recorded history.

More's the pity.

[edible_hat]

At work we made customers wait for a minute while we all stood there listening to the Last Post playing on the radio.


And my co-worker said that last year she had a big fight with a now-ex coworker who refused to stop talking. On being told that shutting up for one minute is the least he can do to show respect for the country that took him in after his family left war-torn Iraq, he played the race card.