Posted on 11/11/2016 3:32:31 AM PST by harpygoddess
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.
Today is the anniversary of Armistice Day, 11 November 1918, when at the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month, the First World War came to an end after more than four years of carnage. (Armistice Day became Veterans' Day in 1954.) Described by British historian Corelli Barnett as a war that had "causes but no objectives, "the "Great War" left a legacy of disillusionment in its wake and made a shambles of the rest of the 20th century. All told, there were ten million military dead and seven million civilians killed.
The resulting economic collapse, the draconian terms of the Treaty of Versailles, and the conviction of many Germans that they had been "stabbed in the back" led to an even more destructive rematch only two decades later. One could argue - and I do - that World War I was the greatest misfortune that ever befell Western civilization.
It destroyed the West's belief in inevitable human progress. It brought down the Austro-Hungarian, German, Russian, and Ottoman empires, bankrupted France and England, and put the British Empire on the skids. It was the proximate cause of the triumph of Communism in Russia and the formation of the Soviet Union, drove the United States into two decades of international isolation, and instilled in Germany a thirst for revenge that led directly to the rise of the Nazis and World War II.
Moreover, in the Middle East, Britain's and France's cack-handed and self-serving division of the remains of the Ottoman Empire was largely responsible for all the turmoil we suffer there today.
(Excerpt) Read more at vaviper.blogspot.com ...
It was Decoration Day before it was Armistice Day.
One of my military collectible rifles is a U.S. Model of 1917 Winchester, 30-06. The barrel is stamped W 11-18 and the serial number indicates it was produced November 3-4, 1918. Needless to say it wasn’t shot much (probably after for training use, etc.), the barrel is tight spec’d (checked by -.0002 Pin Gauge) and head spacing, Throat, etc. are all excellent.
Veterans Day is traditionally for those who served and are still alive. Memorial Day is for those who have gone on to meet their maker.
Four tenth of one percent (0.4%) of Americans are veterans. A stunning number when you think of it.
God bless my extended family, my brothers and sisters who have served! May you have a wonderful day and a blessed life!
About 0.4% of the U.S. population is currently active-duty military. About 7.3% are veterans.
Thanking four generations of servicemen in my family: my father, WW 2, my husband and brother, Vietnam, my son, Desert Storm, and my grandson, stationed in Turkey.
you are correct. I looked to quickly at my source and got my numbers wrong.
Thank you for catching my mistake.
Not to worry. A very good point about the difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day, by the way.
I have read accounts of furious firing in the last minutes before the cease-fire went into effect on the Western Front. It seems there was a competition, mostly among artillerymen and machine gun teams, to be the person who fired the last shot of “The War to End All Wars.”
Yeah, we got that one wrong too.
From this veteran to my fellow veterans:
A heartfelt thanks for being among those willing to defend the United States, its vital interests, and its fundamental values, often under difficult conditions in foreign places, in service of a public that is sometimes fickle and unappreciative of your sacrifices.
In Flanders Fields
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.
John McCrae, 1872 - 1918
> It was Decoration Day before it was Armistice Day.
Wrong Day of Honor, but at our ages, it’s forgivable. It was Decoration Day before it was Memorial Day. It was Artistic Day before it was Veterans’ Day.
Veteran’s Day is to honor the living; Memorial Day is to remember the fallen.
My father’s cousin Jimmy was killed 9 days from the end of Wilson’s war. RIP Jimmy.
It was Decoration Day before it was Armistice Day.
Aren’t you thinking of Memorial Day?
Yes, thank you for the correction.
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