Remembrance Day

Locutus

Adorable Deplorable
Jun 18, 2007
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Here is a copy of a letter from my grandfather.

It was written to his daughter just before Christmas while his was at Monks Horton convalescent hospital in England in 1917. My dad has the original and the envelope.

He had suffered from a chlorine gas (mustard gas) attack during the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

Stella was my aunt and my dad's oldest sister. Hazel was the next oldest sister. I don't know who Mr. Thomas was as yet.



Monks Horton
Kent England
Dec 14th /17
My Dear little Stella
I received your dear little letter and I am very glad to hear from you and to see you can write so good. I hope you get along well at school and help favor little Hazel to learn. I cant get out any place to get you any present yet but I will try and get you some thing when I do get out. Yes dear Stella I wish I was home and hope to be soon. I should never have left you. Mamma says you are a great help to her You little kiddies must be very careful of the train and autos I am glad you done so well on your birth day Mr. Thomas must I think a lot of you and I hope everybody does.

Now I must close for this time Dear Stella. With love and best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a very happy new year
From Daddy

Ps Im sending you a german bill it is all I have got now it is money worth about 48 cents in peace time but no good now ask the bank what he will give you for it.
Bye bye
 
May 28, 2007
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Honour our Fallen
Oh Great Spirit,
Here my prayer.

Take care of those,
that have fought and fallen.
Let them know,
they are not forgotten.

A payment in blood,
the price demanded.
Vanquish our foes,
their inner voices commanded.

We hear a new voice now
and loud it screams.
End our wars,
peace is our dream.

No Soldier died,
nor did one bleed.
Because in his heart,
war had need.

Purge their thoughts,
of these deniers.
While you keep them warm,
by the councils fires.

Let them know,
we see their faces.
While we pass down their stories,
of these hellish places.

Stories now dying,
day by day.
as the tellers are all,
coming your way.

Hold them up
and praise their honour.
The legacy they leave,
I will not let them squander.

Oh Great Spirit,
hear my prayer.

Let them know,
That we still care.
----------
Ohkwai

you signed this Ohkwai....i take it that you wrote this....

it's beautiful...

you surprised me with this this morning....It takes time, but eventually we learn so much of the people we post off of....
 

Locutus

Adorable Deplorable
Jun 18, 2007
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Locutus

Adorable Deplorable
Jun 18, 2007
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Remember Afghanistan


Seventy-one Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed since the Canadian military deployed to Afghanistan in early 2002.

April 17, 2002: Sgt. Marc D. Leger, Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer, Pte. Richard A. Green and Pte. Nathan Smith were killed by friendly fire when an American fighter jet dropped a laser-guided 225-kilogram bomb on the soldiers during a training exercise near Kandahar. All served with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Battle Group.

Oct. 2, 2003: Sgt. Robert Alan Short and Cpl. Robbie Christopher Beerenfenger were killed and three others injured when their Iltis jeep struck a roadside bomb outside Camp Julien near Kabul. They were from the Third Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment.

Jan. 27, 2004: Cpl. Jamie Murphy died and three soldiers were injured by a suicide bomber while patrolling near Camp Julien in an Iltis jeep. All were members of the Royal Canadian Regiment.

Nov. 24, 2005: Pte. Braun Scott Woodfield, Royal Canadian Regiment, was killed in a traffic accident involving his light-armoured vehicle (LAV III) northeast of Kandahar. Three others soldiers suffered serious injuries.

Jan. 15, 2006: Diplomat Glyn Berrywas killed and three soldiers injured by a suicide bomber in Kandahar. They were patrolling in a G Wagon.

March 2, 2006: Cpl. Paul Davisdied and six others were injured when their LAV III collided with a civilian taxi just west of Kandahar during a routine patrol. The soldiers were with the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.

March 5, 2006: Master Cpl. Timothy Wilson of Grande Prairie, Alta., succumbed to injuries suffered in the LAV III crash on March 2 in Afghanistan. Wilson died in hospital in Germany.

March 28-29, 2006: Pte. Robert Costallwas killed in a firefight with Taliban insurgents in the desert north of Kandahar. A U.S. soldier and a number of Afghan troops also died and three Canadians were wounded. Costall was a member of 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, based in Edmonton.

April 22, 2006: Four soldiers were killed when their armoured vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb near Gombad, north of Kandahar. They were Cpl. Matthew Dinning, stationed at Petawawa, Ont.; Bombardier Myles Mansell, based in Victoria; Lieut. William Turner, stationed in Edmonton, and Cpl. Randy Payne of CFB Wainwright, Alta.

May 17, 2006: Capt. Nichola Goddard, a combat engineer with the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery and Canada's first female combat death, killed during battle against Taliban forces in the Panjwai region, 24 kilometres west of Kandahar.

July 9, 2006: Cpl. Anthony Joseph Boneca, a reservist, with the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment based in Thunder Bay, Ont., was killed as Canadian military and Afghan security forces were pushing through an area west of Kandahar City that had been a hotbed of Taliban activity.

July 22, 2006: A suicide bomber blows himself up in Kandahar, killing two Canadian soldiers and wounded eight more. Cpl. Francisco Gomez, an anti-armour specialist from the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in Edmonton, was driving the Bison armoured vehicle targeted by the bomber's vehicle. Cpl. Jason Patrick Warren of the Black Watch in Montreal was riding in the vehicle.

Aug. 3, 2006: Cpl. Christopher Jonathan Reid, with the 1st Battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, based in Edmonton, died overnight when a Canadian Light Armoured Vehicle, or LAV-3, was struck by a roadside bomb. Later the same say, three more Canadian soldiers were killed during a separate attack with rocket propelled grenades near Kandahar city. According to a DND website late Thursday, Sgt. Vaughn Ingram of the 1st Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, and Cpl. Bryce Jeffrey Keller of the 1st Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry were also killed. The fourth dead soldier was not identified. Several other Canadian soldiers were injured in the attack.

Aug. 5, 2006: Master Cpl. Raymond Arndt, of the Edmonton-based Loyal Edmonton Regiment, was killed Aug. 5 when a G-Wagon making a supply run collided with a civilian truck.

Aug. 9, 2006: Master Cpl. Jeffrey Scott Walsh, based out of Shilo, Man. with the second batallion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, was conducting routine operations along Highway One near the Zhari district centre, about 20 kilometres west of Kandahar city was he was shot in a "weapons related accident" unrelated to enemy fire about noon Wednesday, just days after arriving in Kandahar to begin his tour of duty.

August 11, 2006: Cpl. Andrew James Eykelenboom with the 1st Field Ambulance based in Edmonton, was killed when his vehicle was hit by a suicide bomber.

August 22, 2006: Canadian Corp. David Braun, a recently arrived soldier with the second battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, was killed by a suicide bomber outside the gates of Camp Nathan Smith in Kandahar City. The soldier, in his 20s, was a native of Raymore, Sask. Three other Canadian soldiers were injured in the afternoon attack.

September 3, 2006: Warrant Officer Richard Francis Nolan, Warrant Officer Frank Robert Mellish, Sergeant Shane Stachnik, and Pte. William Jonathan James Cushley, all based at CFB Petawawa, west of Ottawa, were among four soldiers killed in fierce fighting in southern Afghanistan. Several more soldiers were wounded.

September 4, 2006: Pte. Mark Anthony Graham, a member of 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, based at CFB Petawawa, Ont., killed and dozens of others wounded in a friendly fire incident involving an American A-10 Warthog aircraft.

September 18, 2006: Four soldiers were killed when a suicide bomber riding a bicycle detonated explosives in the Panjwai area. Cpl Shane Keating, Cpl Keith Morley and Pte. David Byers, 22, all members of the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry from Shilo, Man and Cpl. Glen Arnold, a member of the 2 Field Ambulance, from Petawawa, Ont. were killed in the attack that wounded several others.

September 29, 2006: Pte. Josh Klukie was killed by an improvised explosive device, while he was conducting a foot patrol in the Panjwaii district in Kandahar province.

October 3, 2006: Sgt. Craig Gillamand Cpl. Robert Mitchellof the Royal Canadian Dragoons, based in Petawawa, Ont., killed in series of mortar, rocket attacks just west of Kandahar city

October 7, 2006: Mark Andrew Wilson of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, based in Petawawa, Ont., was killed when his armoured vehicle was hit by a roadside explosion in the Panjwaii district.

October 14, 2006: A storm of gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades killed Sgt. Darcy Tedford of Charles Company, 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, based in Petawawa, Ont. and Pte. Blake Williamson, also based in Petawawa, in southern Afghanistan. Three others are expected to recover from their wounds.

November 27, 2006:Two Canadian soldiers, Chief Warrant Officer Albert Storm and Sgt. Maj. Bob Girouard, were killed on the outskirts of Kandahar on Monday when a suicide car bomber attacked a convoy of military vehicles. The soldiers were members of the Royal Canadian Regiment based in Petawawa, Ont. They were in an armoured personnel carrier that had just left the Kandahar Airfield base when a vehicle drove up to it and detonated explosives.

March 6, 2007: Cpl. Kevin Megeney, 25, a reservist from Stellarton, N.S., and a member of 1st Battalion Nova Scotia Highlanders is the 45th Canadian military death in Afghanistan since 2002. Megeney was shot through the chest and left lung in what's believed to be a "friendly fire" incident.

April 8, 2007 : Six Canadian soldiers died in southern Afghanistan as a result of injuries sustained when the vehicle they were travelling in hit an explosive device. The men were identified as Sgt. Donald Lucas, 31, of Burton, N.B., Pte. Kevin Kennedy, 20, of St. Lawrence, Nfld., Cpl. Aaron E. Williams, 23, of Lincoln, N.B., and Pte. David R. Greenslade, 20, of Saint John, N.B., Cpl. Christopher P. Stannix, 24, of Dartmouth, N.S., and Cpl. Brent Poland, 37, of Sarnia, Ont.

April 11, 2007 : Master Cpl. Allan Stewart, 30, and Trooper Patrick James Pentland, 23 - both of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, based in Petawawa, Ont. - died after their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in an area about 38 km west of Kandahar City.

April 18, 2007: Master Cpl. Anthony Klumpenhouwer. A special operations soldier died in an accident when he fell while climbing a communications tower.

May 25, 2007: Corp. Matthew McCully. An infantryman killed when a road-side bomb exploded near him during Operation Hoover, a major operation to clear out Taliban.

May 30, 2007 : Master Cpl. Darrell Jason Priede was the 56th Canadian service member killed since 2002 in Afghanistan, his death coming less than a week after another corporal lost his life to a roadside bomb.

June 11, 2007 : Trooper Darryl Caswell, 25, was killed when the armoured vehicle he was driving was ripped apart by an improvised explosive device en route to a remote NATO base in Afghanistan since 2002.

June 20, 2007: Sgt. Christos Karigiannis, Cpl. Stephen Frederick Bouzane and Pte. Joel Vincent Wiebe, all of 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, were killed when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb near a forward-operating base at Sperwan Ghar, west of Kandahar.

July 4, 2007: Six Canadian soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle. Capt. Matthew Johnathan Dawe, Cpl. Cole Bartsch ,Cpl. Jordan Anderson , Capt. Jefferson Francis and Pte. Lane Watkins, all of 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, based in Edmonton, and Master-Cpl. Colin Bason, a reservist from The Royal Westminster Regiment. The identity of the other casualty has not been released.

August 19, 2007: Pte Simon Longtin was killed early Sunday by a roadside bomb, becoming the first member of Quebec's storied Van Doos regiment to die while serving in Afghanistan.

August 22, 2007: Master Cpl. Christian Duchesne of the 5th Ambulance company and Master Warrant Officer Mario Mercier of the 2nd Battalion, Royal 22nd Regiment (the Van Doo) based in Valcartier, Que., were killed when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb.

September 24, 2007: Cpl. Nathan Hornburg, 24, of the King's Own Calgary Regiment died in heavy mortar fire and four other NATO troops were wounded as part of Operation Good Soldier in the Panjwai District of Afghanistan.


 

Locutus

Adorable Deplorable
Jun 18, 2007
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It's our duty to honour their sacrifice


Every year it's much the same - and it shouldn't be.

Each Remembrance Day, the men and women who have served Canada in its wars - and some who continue to serve - march to area cenotaphs. They're there to honour those of their peers who served and those who died in those wars.

But sadly, too few of the people who benefit daily from their service can be bothered to show up once a year to say thanks.

At best, Remembrance Day services in Belleville draw a few hundred people to the cenotaphs on Station Street. It's not enough.

This year, like last year, Nov. 11 falls on a weekend - this Sunday, to be exact.

The number of people who fought in 20th-century wars is declining, while the number of veterans and casualties of Canada's current war in Afghanistan is climbing. They all deserve our respect and support. Why aren't they getting it?

Some argue that the weather is at fault - tell that to the veterans who ducked bullets in rain or shine - or that they remember at home and don't need to attend a service to honour our veterans.
But staying home doesn't show the veterans that you care.

It is truly amazing - and significant - that those who have suffered so much still come out every year to see that both surviving and fallen veterans are never forgotten.

These are people who suffered horrendous emotional, mental, and physical injuries in war. Most of them saw suffering - their own or that of others. Many saw close friends die. Some had to drop bombs. Some had to kill the enemy face to face.

Those experiences, and others we can't imagine, make many veterans unwilling to speak about their war years, and it's no surprise. The simple term "sacrifice" just doesn't seem to cover such horrors.

Fortunately, though, a precious few do speak, helping the rest of us to understand. And whether or not they talk publicly, many continue to work to ensure we don't forget. Most of these people left the military in the mid-1940s or 1950s. Yet something about their experiences keeps them dedicated to preserving our national remembrance.

They aren't doing it for themselves. They're doing it for those we've lost, and for those who have to continue to remember.

And so we must.

We know, from our work telling veterans' stories, how important it is to see others at these ceremonies. We also know how emotional and grateful they are when somebody says "thank you" - by wearing a poppy, by paying respects on Nov. 11, or by saying the actual words and shaking their hand.

Doing so doesn't mean you condone or glorify war. It means you recognize the sacrifice others have made - the human cost of war.

It is such a small gesture, so incredibly simple, and yet so many of us don't do it. Why not?
To be sure, there have been some encouraging signs.

The Year of the Veteran efforts received strong support locally; both the province and now Belleville council have recognized veterans by renaming stretches of roads in their honour; and Belleville's poppy sales rose in 2007.

he last several years have seen a general increase in Remembrance Day attendance rates. But those rates could and should be much higher, especially now that we're once again at war, and one of Canada's youngest generations now has veterans of its own.

To stand for one hour each year to honour those who have served their country is not an onerous task.
And if you want to do a little extra, you can always support the local poppy campaign by making a donation or buying a wreath or cross for the ceremony. It's an easy way for individuals, organizations, and businesses to get involved.

Our veterans have done their duty and much more. This Sunday, it's time to do ours. We hope to see you there.

http://www.intelligencer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=764188

 

darkbeaver

the universe is electric
Jan 26, 2006
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RR1 Distopia 666 Discordia
It's not our duty to honour thier sacrifice, and they were most surely sacrificed as if they were layed over the stone alter and disembowled. You may have to honour slaughter and contrivance I do not.
It's always been the warriors lament that they gave of themselves and that they died for our human sins. That has never been true, war has always been for conquest and gain and never about freedom or justice. While a young man/woman may believe they fight for the rights of all this is not the case, many youth cannot understand the reasons for conflict and are easily led to the abyss with baubles and ribbons and parades. So you may honour the waste of youth on the battlefields, I do not. Murder and rape and pillage can never be made right by ceremony and pagentry, only the dullard believes otherwise, only the dullard gives his sons to war and his daughters to slavery.
 

karrie

OogedyBoogedy
Jan 6, 2007
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bliss
hey Locutus.

Life gets in the way of the ceremonies sometimes. But we will honor the day with some family talks, some moments of silence, and some prayers.
 

Locutus

Adorable Deplorable
Jun 18, 2007
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It's interesting if you have a relative's name on it somewhere.

Luckily, my grandfather never died on that Vimy batttlefield. He was there, but made it home.
 

eh1eh

Blah Blah Blah
Aug 31, 2006
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Under a Lone Palm
The enormous proportions of this, IMO, cannot really be put to words. Ironiclly that is what, among other things, these wars defended.

I remember with every keystroke.
 
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