Vimy Ridge Remembered

[#juan]

Saddest thing of all, to my mind: 620,000 Canadians mobilized, 67,000 killed, 173,000 injured, many of them cripplingly and permanently. For a country with less than 10 million people at the time, that's a whole generation of young men. And it being an all-volunteer army tells us something about who they were: the adventurous spirits, the bold and brave, the risk takers... We lost more than just those men, we lost a spirit and an attitude too. Imagine how different Canada might be if they'd lived and had children and grandchildren... That's one of Pierre Burton's conclusions in his book about Vimy Ridge. At the end he asks, "Was it worth it?" His answer was no, and so is mine.

In retrospect it's easy to see that it was a stupid war fought for stupid reasons and created the roots of conflicts--notably in the MIddle East--that are still vexing the planet. That's one of the reasons why we ought to remember; you'll never make sense of the current geopolitical situation if you don't understand WW1.

And it's certainly no reason not to honour our fallen and remember their sacrifices. My mother's father and his brothers were there. They all came home again, and they were all physically whole, but other relatives confirmed that they were never the same after that. As one of my Great Aunts put it, all the joy was burned out of them. They were casualties too. Their whole generation was.

Whether Vimy Ridge was worth it or not is something that can be argued for decades and it has been. One point I'd like to make is that Canadian troops had already put in time as cannon fodder for at least a couple of incompetent British generals who inherited their commissions. Vimy Ridge was at least a Canadian planned operation. The 3600 Canadians who lost their lives and the thousands injured at Vimy were a terrible price, but far better than the 11,000 who were cannon fodder and who were so blasted to smithereens that there wasn't enough left to identify. As well, those who came home could be very proud of their achievements. This coming November we might not have a single WW1 veteran at the Remembrance Day ceremonies in Ottawa, but I remember when we had tens of thousands. I just wish we had treated our veterans a little better when they were still here.

 

[catman]

WW1 vets in the US were certainly ignored by their government after the war. 'The Bonus March' is a subject worth looking into.

 

[talloola]

My grandfather fought in the Boer War, and also World War 1. He never spoke of the wars,
kept it all inside for the rest of his life. He survived physically, remained very healthy, but
something was taken from his spirit forever.
I remember him well, he was very quiet, didn't want any trouble with anyone, ever, just lived out
his life, without bothering anyone.

 

[Dexter Sinister]

...just lived out his life, without bothering anyone.

Yeah, I've seen the same pattern in veterans of both World Wars, I'm sure it's visible in Vietnam veterans (though I don't currently know any) and it'll be visible in the veterans of Kosovo and Afghanistan and Iraq and so forth. Very bright and able people, content to live out their lives being much less than they could have been. One of my favourite people (dead now, alas) was a veteran of convoy escort duty on corvettes in WW2, very intelligent, widely read, deeply thoughtful and insightful, he'd have been an excellent academic and teacher, spent his professional life selling shoes and never wanted anything more than peace and quiet. Nothing wrong with that, but he could have been so much more, for himself and many others, and I've always felt the combat experience broke something in him.

 

[talloola]

Yeah, I've seen the same pattern in veterans of both World Wars, I'm sure it's visible in Vietnam veterans (though I don't currently know any) and it'll be visible in the veterans of Kosovo and Afghanistan and Iraq and so forth.

Why can't it 'just' all end. It's such a helpless feeling for all of us who, just want peace, and peace
comes closer from time to time, but then away it goes, as some new war is born, it's very frustrating.
The U.S. government just seems to have become paranoid since 911, and if they don't elect someone
who is a moderate/diplomat in 2008, they will continue with their non peaceful methods, and threats
to other countries, and their accusations toward others as 'terrorists', when, what is really needed is a more diplomatic approach, and some 'calm'.
McCain and Gulianni both scare me, as they just want to continue on in the same path as Bush.

 

[snfu73]

SNAFU

Aren't we lucky then you aren't calling the shots and making the rules to honor the slain.

The least we can do is pay homage those who have died for their nation - for whatever cause or reason.

It would seem you lack knowledge of the meaning of the word celebrate... a missing link which often takes only a few minutes to look up on the internet to discover something new...

Thesaurus

Library > Words > Thesaurus
celebrate

verb

1. To mark (a day or an event) with ceremonies of respect, festivity, or rejoicing: commemorate, keep, observe, solemnize. See remember/forget.
2. To show joyful satisfaction in an event, especially by merrymaking: rejoice, revel. Idioms: kill the fatted calf, make merry. See laughter.
3. To pay tribute or homage to: acclaim, eulogize, exalt, extol, glorify, hail, honor, laud, magnify, panegyrize, praise. Idioms: sing someone's praises. See praise/blame.

Well, screw your dictionary terms...when I see celebrate, I think of a party...I think of glorification. I don't think death and war and mass destruction should be celebrated. Remembered, yes. Celebrated...in the way that I most often use the term, and most often hear it used....no. But thanks so much for your help in the matter.

 

[snfu73]

My grandfather fought in the Boer War, and also World War 1. He never spoke of the wars,
kept it all inside for the rest of his life. He survived physically, remained very healthy, but
something was taken from his spirit forever.
I remember him well, he was very quiet, didn't want any trouble with anyone, ever, just lived out
his life, without bothering anyone.

I can't imagine what war would do to someone. I think how war would affect me...I just can't imagine how it would mess with me. It is not something I would wish on anyone...and I wish there was some way to put an end to it...especially modern warfare.

 

[EagleSmack]

I can't imagine what war would do to someone. I think how war would affect me...I just can't imagine how it would mess with me. It is not something I would wish on anyone...and I wish there was some way to put an end to it...especially modern warfare.

I suppose that all warfare is modern at the time it was fought.

 

[spaminator]

Song about soldier earns Edmonton teen a trip to Vimy Ridge | Canada | News | To

 

[Curious Cdn]

My Great Uncle was there, a mule skinner limbering guns. He was a teenager of seventeen years old but he was already an experienced war veteran by the time of Vimy.

 

[spaminator]

Underaged soldier made his way to Vimy Ridge: grandson of war vet | Toronto & GT

 

[B00Mer]

Underaged soldier made his way to Vimy Ridge: grandson of war vet | Toronto & GT

Yeah my Great Uncle enlisted to the military at 15 years of age too (lied about his age to get in).. died on Vimy Ridge.

Harold Ivan Sawyer - The Canadian Virtual War Memorial - Veterans Affairs Canada

All my family is military.. Grandfather was shot in WWI in the lung by a sniper, he in turn shot the sniper out of the tree before he collapsed. He survived and continued to fight through WWI & WWII, he married a Military Nurse.

 

[darkbeaver]

On the verge of WW3 it's hard to imagine that Vimy Ridge is being remembered at all.

Yeah my Great Uncle enlisted to the military at 15 years of age too (lied about his age to get in).. died on Vimy Ridge.

Harold Ivan Sawyer - The Canadian Virtual War Memorial - Veterans Affairs Canada

All my family is military.. Grandfather was shot in WWI in the lung by a sniper, he in turn shot the sniper out of the tree before he collapsed. He survived and continued to fight through WWI & WWII, he married a Military Nurse.

He was a fine young man no doubt and so were the thousands who died with him for the greed and lies of bastards and thieves. Remember that if you remember nothing else.

 

[petros]

Visiting Vimy was the second most humbling experience of my life.

 

[Locutus]

On the verge of WW3 it's hard to imagine that Vimy Ridge is being remembered at all.

it's because there are plenty of descendants of those that fought there that obviously won't let those efforts die in vain and obscurity.

here's mine...left rank, fourth soldier in:

had a wee taste of sulfur mustard at Hill 70 later on but made it home in one piece.

 

[Curious Cdn]

Yeah my Great Uncle enlisted to the military at 15 years of age too (lied about his age to get in).. died on Vimy Ridge.

My Great Uncle enlisted to the military at 15 years of age as well (also lied about his age to get in). He survived Vimy Ridge and died age 94 in 1994. He was a mule skinner in the artillery and whe would have spent weeks before and after the assault limbering guns with teams of horses or mules. It was dangerous to the extent that the German artillery targeted the roads and communications trenches that drivers like him had to use but it was no comparison to what an infantryman in the first wave would have experienced ... walking behind a slowly moving wall of falling artillery shells towards wire that hopefully has been cut, towards machingun positions that hopefully are not manned for a few minutes as the rolling barrage passes over them.

Most of us would be paralysed with fear. Their training was so comparatively good that they kept the faith and kept marching forward.

 

[Cliffy]

We haven't learned a damn thing from Vimy Ridge or any other battle fought for the embellishment of the rich and their lies. War is a racket.

 

[Curious Cdn]

I like the crossed golf clubs on the 162 Battalion cap badge.

 

[Jinentonix]

We haven't learned a damn thing from Vimy Ridge or any other battle fought for the embellishment of the rich and their lies. War is a racket.

Well of course it is. So is pretty much everything else any govt puts their hands on. The green energy scam is a racket. Taxes have become a racket. The social system is a racket. The govt itself is a racket. Why? Because humans are in charge and humans are incredibly fallible.

 

[spaminator]

The Vimy Memorial and its Toronto connection | MIKE FILEY'S THE WAY WE WERE | To

Vimy visit stirs cadets' emotions | VIMY RIDGE | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto

Remembering one tough Canadian soldier who survived Vimy Ridge | WARMINGTON | Ca

The mysterious wish of Pte. John Harold Cook | WARMINGTON | Canada | News | Toro

One of Canada’s greatest war heroes lies in a remote Brockville cemetery