A moment of silence

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Hello Escapist.

I'm just walking out the door to go attend the local Remembrance Day ceremony. In the United States and in the United Kingdom it may be held on different dates, here in Canada we hold our veteran recognition service on the 11th day of the 11th month, on the 11th hour. The intention remains the same.

If anyone has family or friends who have served in combat, this thread is a place to talk about that. Please take the background political discussion elsewhere. The reasons why people went out to fight for your country may be something you disagree with but the fact they went out on your behalf deserves respect.

I'm going to remember my Great Uncles at Ypres today.


...

 

[tippy2k2]

Today is Veteran's Day in 'Murica so it is the same date. Although unless I've been disrespecting everyone my entire life, we do not have a specific "moment of silence" time or anything like that. Hell, most schools are still open; it's just us lazy bankers (and Federal Employees) that get the day off for it.

I have multiple friends who are either actively serving (friend in the Air Force) or served previously (friend in the Navy and friend in the Army). I wanted to serve but unfortunately I am all kinds of physically broken so they told me "Thanks but no Thanks".

 

[JoJo]

Yeah, it's Remembrance Day here in the UK too, though we also hold ceremonies on the closest Sunday which this year was a few days ago. I don't know anyone personally who has served, but I try to mark with the day with due respect to our fallen compatriots.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

My dad is a vet and I have a couple of friends who are vets as well and they really don't want to make a big deal out of it. A good friend of mine totally forgot about it, and told me he'll probably spend the day playing Counter Strike and smoke. My dad will just watch TV and take it easy like it's any other day since he's retired.

Like tippy said, we don't have a moment of silence or anything. Nothing really special outside of places giving discounts or free stuff to vets or active service members.

I know I have a day off from everything, and that's about it.

 

[Robert B. Marks]

There was a Garwulf's Corner on this, but...

My great-grandfather served in the Imperial Russian Cavalry in World War I. He was a bit of an odd case - as a Jew he was not allowed to hold rank, but because he did not look like a Jew (he had blond hair and blue eyes) he was granted a great deal of authority. As far as we can tell, he was captured at Gorlic-Tarnow in 1915 - he was in a cavalry charge when a shell exploded behind him. He was saved by his pack, but the rest of his squadron was wiped out, and he spent the rest of the war in a German PoW camp.

My grandfather on my father's side was in the RCAF. He was trained as a navigator and a radio operator, but was not out of training before the war ended. The RCAF actually wanted him to stay in Canada and train people, but he declined - he was more afraid of standing in front of a classroom than he was facing the Germans.

One of my uncles was in the army, in the artillery. He worked ranging shells. He also has the distinction of getting an artillery wound after the war in Europe had ended - he would send the caps of the shells he worked on home as ashtrays, and he and his friends were celebrating around a fire with a dummy shell wrapped up in a blanket. Somebody forgot about the shell and shook the blanket out over the fire. That was when they discovered that it was live.

My family was lucky - we didn't really lose anybody in combat. The only place we really lost people or had people hurt was in the Holocaust. There are a lot of family stories that ended with "and they were killed by the Nazis." But that's a different matter altogether.

My Remembrance Day ritual is to attend the RCHA (Royal Canadian Horse Artillery) service in City Park every year. Taps and the moment of silence gets really interesting when somebody is firing artillery during it...

 

[Zykon TheLich_v1legacy]

Yeah, I went to the local shop to buy some almond milk and I get in there and everyone's standing still looking solemn, and then the clock starts chiming on the radio and I realise oh shit, it's 11 o clock on 11/11. Minute's silence time. My Grandfather was a Captain in the signals corps at Gallipoli. He survived, luckily for him, my mum and me.

 

[WolfThomas]

I have a not-sure-how-many-greats great uncle who servede 3 years during WW1 dying in 1918 as a stretcher bear, shot by a sniper.
There some other some how related cousins many times removed who served, some dying, some getting crippled, others arriving just as the war died down.

 

[Kolby Jack]

In the US it's veteran's day, which is for the living service members. Memorial Day in the spring is for the dead.

As a "veteran," coming up on my 6th year in the Navy... I don't care. I mean, I get the day off, which is great because Fallout 4 just came out, but yeah, being a veteran means nothing to me. I'm not trying to be edgy or anti-establishment or whatever, it's just how I feel. I respect the hell out of combat veterans, because that shit is scary and they're usually fighting for something they believe in or want to protect. No disrespect there. But I'm just a desk jockey who joined because I had dropped out of college into a bad economy and I knew military service would be the easiest way to get by. I'm not ashamed of my service either, but I don't really consider myself a veteran. Military service for me was just a way to forestall having to grow up. Now that I'm as ready to take care of myself and my affairs as I think I can be, the next 9 months before my contract is up are going to chafe more and more, especially since my boss is dead-set on convincing me to stay in. Yeesh.

 

[Thaluikhain]

It's Remembrance Day in Australia, though our time zone is a bit ahead of the US. It's much eclipsed by ANZAC Day, though that's not necessarily bad for Remembrance Day.

 

[Hawki]

My great grandfather was one of the ANZACs who fought on the Western Front. In WWII, my grandfather on my father's side was in the RAF, working as a navigator on a Lancaster, while my grandfather on my mother's side worked at a radar station in New Zealand.

Rest in peace.

 

[Tsun Tzu]

Grandpa on my dad's side served in the U.S. Coast Guard during WWII. Might not sound very glamorous, but he had a pretty active career.

I've got an uncle who's currently a Command Chief Master Sergeant in the USAF. Awesome guy.

And I've got a couple friends/acquaintances/high school peers who're kicking around in one branch or another, including a rather high ranking Navy officer with her own ship, and already retired vets.

I have a great deal of respect for the folks who're willing to put themselves in front of bullets/shells, above IEDs, and under artillery. They're made of far tougher stuff than I and, considering the history, we're all fuckin' fortunate that they had/have the bravery they did/do to get their respective tasks done.

 

[Amaury_games]

My father and his father are both retired from the Army. I admire them a lot, especially because they always seek to solve problems wisely and thoroughly, without unnecessary fights. I'm very thankful they're both still alive.

 

[Thaluikhain]

I've got an uncle who's currently a Command Chief Master Sergeant in the USAF.

Bit off-topic, but that rank is a real mouthful. Seems strange how the US tacks extra names in front of the rank beyond sergeant, rather than comes up with a new title.

 

[davidmc1158_v1legacy]

My father served in the U.S. Navy in WWII. HE served on a supply ship that ran from Hawaii out to wherever the current supply bases were for the fleet. They dropped off supplies and ammo and picked up the wounded that were being sent back to the hospitals in Hawaii. He claims that they never saw any enemy craft or planes during his entire service and the only times they ever fired the deck guns was during target practice. Apparently not all military service in wartime is exciting.

 

[FPLOON]

My deceased uncle (who would have been 70 yesterday) served in Vietnam... I may not have liked him as a person even prior to his passing, personally, but I can respected the work he put on the line of duty and for his country...

Other than that, almost all of the males associated with my family have served in the military in some way, shape, or form...

 

[CrazyGirl17]

A day late, but I don't care. My Grandfather (my dad's dad) served in the Korean War, and certainly saw his share of battles. He even earned himself a Bronze Star and and a Purple Heart after knocking away a grenade. That's cool, I guess.

I think my mom's dad was in the Korean War too... but I don't remember what he dis. I'll have to ask my Grandma.

 

[Lufia Erim]

Eh, not a fan. War is bad , no matter which side you are on. You'd think we'd find a better way to solve problems than " let's see who can kill the most people until one country submits.

No offense but i don't like glorifying war.

 

[Secondhand Revenant]

Eh, not a fan. War is bad , no matter which side you are on. You'd think we'd find a better way to solve problems than " let's see who can kill the most people until one country submits.

No offense but i don't like glorifying war.

I'm not fond of it either, but when you see all the people remembering relatives dear to them is that really appropriate? C'mon.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Eh, not a fan. War is bad , no matter which side you are on. You'd think we'd find a better way to solve problems than " let's see who can kill the most people until one country submits.

No offense but i don't like glorifying war.

I'm not fond of it either, but when you see all the people remembering relatives dear to them is that really appropriate? C'mon.

Unfortunately, the two often blur into each other. At least where I live, there seems to be something of a deliberate trend of this, death is becoming heroic rather than tragic.

 

[The Madman]

An eye opening and informative video that does well to depict the sort of horrors of war that we should strive to remember while also having a positive outlook on the future:


And a link to the original source since vimeo doesn't like being embeded.

Eh, not a fan. War is bad , no matter which side you are on. You'd think we'd find a better way to solve problems than " let's see who can kill the most people until one country submits.

No offense but i don't like glorifying war.

I'm not fond of it either, but when you see all the people remembering relatives dear to them is that really appropriate? C'mon.

Unfortunately, the two often blur into each other. At least where I live, there seems to be something of a deliberate trend of this, death is becoming heroic rather than tragic.

As someone who does a fair bit of work with veterans, none of them that I've met feel this way about Remembrance day. Perhaps in the US it's different, but in Canada Remembrance day is generally marked as a somber occasion with ceremonies such as the one I attended meant to be more a sad reminder to honor those gone by than any sort of glorification of their actions.

So if nothing else I'd advice being polite during Remembrance day at least for them. It's not a time for cynicism, at least for one day.