I visited the city of Ypres, Belgium, a focal point of conflict on the Western Front. In that city is a gate, marked with the names of British soldiers who died at Ypres and their bodies never found. Only British, one city, only the unrecovered bodies. There are almost 60,000 names.
It's heartbreaking to visit some of the battlefields in France and Belgium where the earth is still pocked with shell holes and see the post WW1 monuments all saying that we should never do this again.
I used to attend a Vets' Day breakfast sponsored by a local supermarket. I felt at ease with other vets. Our politics differed, but that mattered less than our shared experience. That changed in 2018 with the in-your-face intrusion of MAGA hats.
I haven't attended a Vet's Day event since then.
I’ve heard similar stories from people and institutions in my little Indiana hometown. Lots of relationships ruined in service to Donald Trump, which is just undignified.
And to that end, Veterans' Day suggests continuation; a steady resupply of new veterans to parade about each November. Which neatly aligns with the Perpetual War policy of that bloated, revolting empire.
incidentally years ago i had people argue passionately with me that the 11th minute of the 11th hour thing was never a thing and i was making shit up. thank you again kurt for reaffirming memories from child hood.
That's kind of a tragic part. People fought and died for a 24 hours leading up to this because some General thought it was poetic to end on the elevens (and some other General thought it was important to fight until the very end).
It's still - after all this time - called Armistice Day in the UK. But it always was tainted by a message (by too many people) of "HOORAH! We beat the Huns!"
The Kaiser and the British King were first cousins. Also related to the Czar. It was a family squabble over colonies, in which millions died.
It’s worth reading this history of the last US soldiers who died in WW1. They were sacrificed by their commander who wanted the glory of more victories despite the fact that everyone knew the war was ending in a few hours and still launched the attack.
www.armytimes.com/veterans/sal...
This is how I feel about Remembrance Day.
The Remembrance Day of my youth was about the horrors of war and why we shouldn't fight wars any more. Now it's about the worship of the military.
