This Is Why I Remember

[35 whelen]

Not sure why I pay respect every November 11th at 11th no matter where I'm at ,never grew up in a military family became a huge World War II history fan every time I watch something that just blows me away how people can do that to each other and and I will pay my respects this November 11th rest in peace.

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[58thecat]

We are truly blessed to have people willing to serve our great country yesterday, today and tomorrow....

Never a moment goes by that I am not thankful.....

[KinAlberta]

Edmund De Wind: The war hero remembered in Comber and Canada - BBC News

“De Wind was born in Comber on 11 December 1883 and attended Campbell College before working for the Bank of Ireland. He later emigrated to Canada and was working for the Canadian Bank of Commerce in Edmonton when the First World War broke out.“


Edmund De Wind's links to Canada are recognised on his memorial in Comber

He is also honoured in Canada, where there is a mountain named 'Mount de Wind' in Alberta.
...”

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-54840215

[silver]

Originally Posted by FXSB

Had an uncle killed at Passchendaele Oct 31, 1917. 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles

Father served in the First War Royal Engineers. He said never get involved in a war.

Person I was named after was Alan May Flying Officer 424 SQ. Shot down in a Halifax July 6,1944

Thanks in part to them, I have had a peaceful life.

When I read your post, I recognized the squadron no. so I got my dads log book out and read it for a bit. He was in 424 SQ and went down in March of 1944 and got some free room and board in Stalag Luft 3.

[Dick284]

Moving this back up.

At the going down of the sun…………..

[CaberTosser]

My Great Grandfather Alexander in WWI (at left). He had emigrated to Canada from Scotland as a young man. The source of the Scot in me.

[Grizzly Adams1]

My father served on the other side, German government even gave him a pension. To his dying day, he believed he was fighting to save the world as well. War is total stupidity.

Grizz

[Fish along]

First time reading this thread,all the posts are a reminder of the cruelties of war and the sacrafices that most people take for granted. We have war veterans in our family as well,my granfather Silas Smith WW11, and uncle Lester , Korean war, both passed.Also have a nephew who is presently serving in the army.My father in law who emigrated from England, Herbert served with the navy also passed..Always be remembered,,Thanks for this great thread Dick i appreciate it.

[IronNoggin]

For generations almost every man in my extended family has served. Some in peace time, many in conflict.
Same did not come home.
Many that did were never the same.
I honor them each and every day.
But this day, Remembrance Day, is set aside for all to do the same.
I doff my hat and bow my head in grateful thanks.

As I do each of these days since I could, I will be on a solo hunt on a local mountain this afternoon and evening.
At the pinnacle, I will once again stand in silent remembrance of those who sacrificed so much in order for us to live the way we do...



Taps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9xNoEu3O8c

With Grateful Respect...

[Dick284]

Time to bring this back up.

Everyone do your best to take a moment of silence at 11:00 AM.

[CaberTosser]

My Grandpa Jim on my Mom's side @ center, front row, 2nd from the left. He survived the war & passed away around 1990.





My Great Uncle Edward, lost @ sea @ the age of 20 after being torpedoed by U-boat U-548 on the HMCS Valleyfield off the coast of Newfoundland during convoy escort duties. He was named after my Great-Grandpa's brother who was lost in WWI. His middle name was Eloi after the French town St Eloi where his uncle was killed.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMCS_Valleyfield_(K329)

[Fish along]

Originally Posted by Fish along

First time reading this thread,all the posts are a reminder of the cruelties of war and the sacrafices that most people take for granted. We have war veterans in our family as well,my granfather Silas Smith WW11, and uncle Lester , Korean war, both passed.Also have a nephew who is presently serving in the army.My father in law who emigrated from England, Herbert served with the navy also passed..Always be remembered,,Thanks for this great thread Dick i appreciate it.

I want to clarify that my father in law,that I never got to meet and passed before I met and married his daughter, His name was Herbert Bampton and served in the navy. Also I wanted to remember William (Bill) Pike of Harbour Grace NFLD, who served in the navy WW11, he was a great swimmer and gave his spot on a crowded life boat to swim ashore of Crete,it was the last time ever seen.May the rest in peace ..May we never forget our vets. Thanks for reviving this thread again.

[skain11]

The DND has loads of archives from some of Canada's conflicts. I was able to search for my grandfather who was a young farmer at the time and found 42 pages of scanned documents from his experience in WW1 including his attestation/indoctrination papers, his pay details ( $20 per month as a private overseas) and his discharge papers. Incredible insight into a brutal period of global history which ended on Nov 11 , 1918. https://www.canada.ca/en/services/de...tions/wwi.html

[Dick284]

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.


An excerpt from:

For The Fallen
by
Laurence Binyon

[58thecat]

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[kingrat]

Had both grandpas and great uncle in ww2. Great uncle was.killed just outside caen. No matter where I am or what I'm doing on nov 11 I get chills when I hear the trumpets.

[jungleboy]

My Grandfather and great uncle just before they deployed to France. They both fought at Vimy Ridge and both were wounded. My Great uncle never made it back alive. My Grandfather was 38 I believe when he went over.

[IMG][/IMG]

[Tommy]

Wow JB, what a great pic. Those are a couple of tough looking men for sure.
You must be very proud.

Tommy

[jungleboy]

Originally Posted by Tommy

Wow JB, what a great pic. Those are a couple of tough looking men for sure.
You must be very proud.

Tommy

The odd thing is. They were just good friends when they went to war but when his friend (Andrew) was killed ,my grandfather came home and went to visit Andrew’s family. He ended up marrying Andrew’s sister. Grandfather bought a small farm and they raised 7 children together on that farm in Vineland Ontario.
I always felt, I owed my existence to the fact that Uncle Andrew was killed at Vimy ridge

[58thecat]

To understand a Military Veteran you must know:
* We left home as teenagers or in our early twenties for an unknown adventure.
* We loved our country enough to defend it and protect it with our own lives.
* We said goodbye to friends and family and everything we knew.
* We learned the basics and then we scattered in the wind to the far corners of the Earth.
* We found new friends and new family.
* We became brothers and sisters regardless of colour, race or creed.
* We had plenty of good times, and plenty of bad times.
* We didn’t get enough sleep.
* We smoked and drank too much.
* We picked up both good and bad habits.
* We worked hard and played harder.
* We didn’t earn a great wage.
* We experienced the happiness of mail call and the sadness of missing important events.
* We didn’t know when, or even if, we were ever going to see home again.
* We grew up fast, and yet somehow, we never grew up at all.
* We fought for our freedom, as well as the freedom of others.
* Some of us saw actual combat, and some of us didn’t.
* Some of us saw the world, and some of us didn’t.
* Some of us dealt with physical warfare, most of us dealt with psychological warfare.
* We have seen and experienced and dealt with things that we can’t fully describe or explain, as not all of our sacrifices were physical.
* We participated in time honored ceremonies and rituals with each other, strengthening our bonds and camaraderie.
* We counted on each other to get our job done and sometimes to survive it at all.
* We have dealt with victory and tragedy.
* We have celebrated and mourned.
* We lost a few along the way.
* When our adventure was over, some of us went back home, some of us started somewhere new and some of us never came home at all.
* We have told amazing and hilarious stories of our exploits and adventures.
* We share an unspoken bond with each other, that most people don’t experience, and few will understand.
* We speak highly of our own branch of service, and poke fun at the other branches.
* We know however, that, if needed, we will be there for our brothers and sisters and stand together as one, in a heartbeat.
* Being a Veteran is something that had to be earned, and it can never be taken away.
* It has no monetary value, but at the same time it is a priceless gift.


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[32-40win]

No military history in my family that I know of, but, parents were in Cardiff during the war, dad worked at a Spitfire plant as an electrical apprentice. Ma used to talk about a friend of hers that served in N Africa. Sister almost married a pilot in USAF in early 60's. I worked with a number of WW2 vets in the 70's, Army, Air Force. I read everything I could about WW2 as a kid, not sure what it was that fascinated me about it, but, it stuck, really is a favorite subject. I've read a lot of the Holocaust sites, watched probably 100+ of the survivor testimony vids, I don't know how many documentaries, interviews and movies, be they American, Cdn, Brit, French, Fin, Norwegian, Russian, Polish, Yugoslav, Chinese, Japanese, Turkish, Indian, some without subtitles, that really didn't need any, as they got the point across without them.
What those folk went thru, be they "bad guys" or "good guys" or non-combatants, shouldn't have to be endured by anyone. War and domination are the nature of the beast with human beings, it won't go away, man is a predator, so, it'll happen again and again, as much as we might like to change that, won't happen, as far as I can see.

[yoteblaster]

Was at Vimy ridge last November. Stood in actual trenches where our soldiers fought and some died. Surreal experience for my son and I. My son was 17 and the guide said boys his age lied about their age to fight and die for their country. Sobering to hear that. AMAZING experience going to many of Flanders fields and attending the playing of the last post in Ypres. War monument was incredible as well. Gained a whole new appreciation for the sacrifices made. Going back next year

[artie]

my uncle was killed on 11 month third day of 1945. Just about made it to the end
He was killed in a bomber when the bombs unloaded wrong and his own bomb blew up the plane.
No one talks about it but guys were killed by mistakes on their own side

[Frank_NK28]

My Great Grandfather...though I met him only once at age 5 shortly before he passed away I have no memory of it. This past May I flew east with my wife for my first visit of the east coast as an adult and stopped to see the legion named in his honour and to visit the cemetery where he, his wife and my Grandfathers brother is buried and to pay my respects and give thanks for his contributions to my freedoms.
It was a very emotional visit seeing the cairn and headstone and legion named after him. It really struck home after a lifetime of hearing stories about him and his brother Ernest who was killed standing alongside him in a field in France in 1916.
My Grandfather, Herman's oldest son had the V.C up until his own passing in 2009. My father had it until 2014 when we sat down and decided it should be put in the Canadian National War Museum in Ottawa so I contacted the person in charge of acquisitions and the rest is history.

https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remem.../details/10871

https://www.canada.ca/en/department-...ames-good.html

https://macleans.ca/news/canada/thes...vived-the-war/

https://1914centenary.com/2013/12/14...t-herman-good/

[stob]

They all gave their country a blank cheque with their life as payment in full...with honour!

[YoteStopper]

Lest We Forget!

[waldedw]

I just returned home from the remembrance day service and as every year in the past it was very emotional, the sound of the bag pipes and the bugle playing the last post always gets the tears rolling.

Two of my mom's brothers served in WW2, my father in law served in the Korean War in the navy and my Father served in WW2, I have a copy of the official letter from the Canadian Army informing my grandmother that her son Nelson Pius Wald L-108828 rifleman had been injured on March 20 / 1945 and was in an army hospital in France.

My dad carried the scars of war both physical and emotional until he passed away at age 92, we that have never experienced war cannot begin to fathom what those men went through and I hope none of my grandchildren will ever experience it either and for that reason we must never forget to honor those that served and those that now serve.

March was a significant month for my Dad, he was born March 10/1920, he was injured in battle March 20/1945 and he passed away March 26/2012.

[Red Bullets]

Salutations to all that have served and sacrificed so much just for us to have such freedoms and peace today.

My grandfather served the Ukrainian Army in WW1 as a 17 year old. He was a prisoner for 10 months after being shot in the leg and was released at the end of the war. 9 years later he came to Canada to start this chapter of our families history. A salute him for his bravery and sense of adventure.

A tune for this day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkbG39-T4H0

[TheIceTitan]

Powerful song. Great send-up to the fallen giants:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXML5vpXd1w

[TrollGRG]

As we remember all of our fallen I thought I would impart some interesting facts to impress on you the sacrifices made by those who served.

A fellow SAR Tech did a little research and came up with these staggering numbers:

WW1 619,636 served, 59,544 died, casualty rate 1 in 10
WW2 1,000,000 served, 45,000 died, casualty rate 1 in 22
Korean War 26,000 served, 516 died, casualty rate 1 in 50
Afghanistan 40,000 served, 158 died, casualty rate 1 in 253
SAR Techs 650 served, 14 died, casualty rate 1 in 46

"We will remember them"