Today commemorates the 100 year anniversary of the WWI armistice. I am currently in Australia, a country that lost nearly 60,000 in the war. I have been very moved by the services I attended. I remember my own US grandfather, a navy serviceman. At the risk of sounding incredibly trite, I feel such gratitude for those who served and those who sacrificed.
I agree. I work along the parade route in NYC and whenever the parade is on a weekday, I spend my lunch hour watching and thanking the marchers. As a Baby Boomer, it was a source of shame for me growing up that my own father was 4-F and not able to serve. Most of my friends’ dads were either vets or Holocaust survivors.
I want to give a shout out to 3 uncles and an aunt, may they rest in peace, who all served our country in WWII, as well as to my late FIL and one of H’s uncles, also deceased. Also, another of my uncles and one of H’s, who served in and after Korea, and to H’s first cousin, a Navy Seal, and my neighbor, a “frogman” in Viet Nam.
AND, a very special shout out to an honorary uncle of H’s, who will be 100 years old in a couple of months, and who served in Italy as an interpreter under Patton.
As well, my gratitude to all who serve personally and to their families, who serve along with them.
From one of my Scottish cousins. An extract from a letter that her great-great uncle [another cousin umpteen time removed], who lived south of Glasgow, sent from Austria in April 1915:
“It is terrible just now. We are pushing them back slowly, but we are paying a price for it and no mistake. You people only read about the 3rd or 4th stage of the battle; you have only to see the first and second stages, and then you would put fighting out of fashion. Words cannot describe the horribleness of it. It sounds all right to read about the noise and crash of battle; and the glorious charges and victories, but, oh! what an aftermath! - thousands lying in all sorts of positions and the wounded crying for water and relief and no help for them; and then, the slightly wounded, streaming all roads in search of a dressing station to get their wounds attended to; and everywhere motors, waggons, and munition tumbrils, loaded with wounded. Shells bursting all around, and the rattle of machine guns make you quite silly and dazed, or excited, and hysterical. I have got the luck myself. Twice in one night my right and left hand men were bowled over, and I got off uninjured. But you never know your luck - here today and gone tomorrow.”
He died of mustard gas poisoning three days after writing this.
Call we still say never again? Rest in peace brave warriors. Love you, Dad.
Wow, @AboutTheSame ! What a powerful letter! Thank you for posting.
Yes, we still can say and aim for Never Again. Thank you for the reminder of those words. I spent the early part of my career working in a VA hospital, when there were many WW1 vets, the very elderly back in the '80s. I wish I had written down their stories.
My Scottish grandparents were of the generation affected by WW1 and my grandfather was a pilot. There were many spinsters in that generation as so many men had died.
Thanks to all who served in the military! Very powerful letter—many thanks!