In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
I learned that poem in third grade. Our class memorized it and recited it together. Even then, as an eight-year-old, I understood the gravity (hmm…grave; gravity. This is the first time I made that connection) - the gravity of the reason the poem was written.
Today is three days since the election that BARELY staved off an autocratic takeover of our country. It’s too soon to say if autocracy will be a part of our country’s future and it’s description. There is still plenty of room to doubt.
My family celebrates Thanksgiving on this weekend. It may be an occasion of perhaps greater thanksgiving than usual given the events of the last few years, and particularly given Tuesday’s results. It will be nice to be able to go to bed without laying awake worried about our country’s political health more than I worry about my own health! It’s not happening tonight, but soon, I hope, sooner rather than later.
Weirdly, my Mom just made an entire Turkey holiday dinner for us tonight. Apparently the bird was on some crazy sale and she didn't want to wait another two weeks lol. I think I'll retroactively consider it actual Thanksgiving, as you suggest, Betsy.
I'm holding judgement with great patience waiting for the Congessional results from the West Coast. If we come near a sweep of what's left to count (quite plausible) then the "miracle" will be complete and we can look forward to more Build Back Better next year. If not, I can bide my time til we finish the job. Progress isn't linear, eyes on the prize, etc. I'd be shocked mathematically if we didn't receive a popular vote when all is counted; the people clearly expressed a desire to move on from the crazy, no matter what the news told us we were supposed to care about. Those statehouse gains say it all, and will make an immediate differnce in the lives of 10s of millions. A cautiously hopeful and invigorating week indeed.
Dracula Dragon finally conceded here in Oregon, as gracelessly as possible. Tina in her speech yesterday called for unity, but not the R. Lack of grace must be in their genes. The Oregonian has called the race for the R in the 5th District, but so far no one else has. We'll see. Sixth still up in the air. Most counties are taking a three day weekend and will resume counting on Monday.
The House race in SW WA’s 3rd district is never included in national reporting but that seat has flipped to Democrats. This was Jamie Herrara-Butler’s district. She was one of the R’s to vote for impeachment and she got primaried by a wackaloon.
Also of interest, the other WA rep who voted to impeach, Dan Newhouse, was re-elected to his seat. He represents a usually-red district. I think these two results demonstrate a weakening of R sentiment in more rural areas of WA.
I haven't seen the results of the 3rd district yet, so glad that Perez won. Joe Kent is one of the worst death star acolytes and I am glad he lost. Also glad to see the Newhouse wasn't punished for his vote.
I have noticed a lowering of the anxiety level I felt up through Tuesday. Not gone by any means! But lower. Because now I know through their votes that there are many more fellow citizens who reject the authoritarians than we could be sure of before.
It's hard to get a sense of our numbers because the crazies take up so much air space!
We will be working to strengthen our weakened democracy for a long time, but as long as we don't go back to sleep, I believe we will progress toward a more just and sane future.
AND SPECIAL THANKS TO GEN Z VOTERS who really saved our a$$es! LOVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU! ❤️ 💕 ♥️ 💓 💖 💗 ❤️ 💕 🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤🤍
And that was supposed to be the war to end all wars. Didn't happen, of course. We'll never learn, especially as long as we're controlled by the MIC. The tail continues to wag the dog.
Happy Veterans Day to all of us Veterans: past and present who represent so many nations of the world.
I hope I'm wrong, but I fear that aggression and warfare are in our genes, especially in those of young men. It would help if all of our young people had to perform some national service that required hard physical labor, which could be fixing the trails in the national parks, for example, or military service. Unfortunately, the need for the military isn't going to go away soon, but, on the other hand, we certainly should not be in thrall to the military-industrial complex (or to any other "complex" such as the financial-high tech-industrial complex). Such service would force people to get along with each other and help to remove the racial and other divisions in society.
Dreaming along with you. It seems the more we try to not make war, the more the gods of War laugh. I so admire the Ukrainians who are showing us what sacrifice for Liberty means and it breaks my heart too. They’ve got a hard winter ahead of them. Life will no doubt be very difficult. And all this misery is because of the greed of one man. Unforgivable.
I don't imagine war itself is in the genes, but more that genetic traits in homo sapiens can lead to war. That is, the basic drives like survival and procreation which are then manipulated by a ruling governmental machine or social order--a machine which convinces the masses through propaganda that the "enemy" wants them dead. Sometimes it's true but mostly not. Most of U.S. propaganda about assorted Middle Eastern nations in the past few decades has been about encouraging us to go to war with them. We know that the Iraq war was based on falsehoods provided by Bush Jr. and Cheney. Colin Powell sacrificed his credibility to endorse the evil Iraq premise. He had to have been in a quid pro quo with Bush Jr. and Cheney.
I agree completely about the need for national service in the U.S. Every citizen should serve at least two years in service and sacrifice; not necessarily doing military service but something which provides benefit to the country. In my generation, those of us serving in the army in the late 1960s had a gross salary of $88.00 per month. That was before taxes and other deductions took some of that away. Our pay worked out to 11 cents an hour, less than one tenth of the then minimum wage of $1.25/hour. We were slave labor, and for that we could be shot and killed or have to shoot and kill someone else.
J. Wasn’t that JFK’s idea for the Peace Corps? And then VISTA here in the US. Those were wonderful programs and really did “help remove the racial and other divisions in society.” Thank you.
E - yes I agree those were/are wonderful programs. They still exist, but I haven't heard much about them for many years. Whether they removed the racial and other divisions in society is questionable, except for the people who were actually involved in the programs. But they are good models of what could be done on a larger scale.
I've had the privilege of twice being in the UK on November 11, which they call Commemoration Day. Around that time the sale of poppies provides funds for vets services.
How sad that veterans have to sell poppies to get needed services. They earned them, it seems to me, by giving their lives to their country. As Bernie says, over and over, take the Defense budget and build decent housing, provide mental health services and give veterans a chance to have lives worth living. My father was a WWII veteran and lost two brothers in the war one month apart. It destroyed him and he lived a silent, sad life while struggling through his next forty years. He died at 62, way before he should have.
My dad was a WWII veteran, who watched his younger brother be killed. PTSD big time, alcohol problems. But with the help of my mother, he overcame his challenges with grief and emotional trauma to live a good life. When my Army son returned from a deployment in Afghanistan, he and my talked talked about their experiences. Daddy shared more stories about his two years in the Army than he ever had before. Everyone who experiences war is injured in some way, whether the wounds are visible or not.
FYI--George Washington argued with the Continental Congress to get the pay that his men had been promised. Since the beginning of the nation, veterans have had to fight for their benefits.
ANOTHER OF MY PERSONAL WRITINGS - THIS ONE FOR MEMORIAL DAY
Memorial to an Unknown Hero
by Rob Boyte 1987
It was 1983 when I wrote down my thoughts about Uncle Bob, the war hero whose legendary image affected my life. Always present but somehow less profound in my experience was his brother, my Uncle Bill.
Bill was the other soldier in uniform in a composite hand-painted photo portrait, which hung on the wall at my grandmother's. As with Bob, I only knew him through these photo images but unlike my namesake, he remained in the background of my awareness.
Perhaps it was because he died the very year that I was born and his passing had been muted by the years. It could also have been because he was just a teenager when he died, leaving no accumulated adult entanglements such as wife or children to perpetuate the memory of his passing.
He was however remembered. Each Memorial Day the family would go with my grandmother to the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery to watch the parade and hear the speeches and find uncle Bill's headstone in the rows of other stone markers of fallen heroes. Though I was quite young, I remember the sadness of the occasion, especially in my grandmother.
I also remember hearing her say that she knew it was possible that the body under the stone was not her Billy. But, it was another American boy who died in the war with him and she accepted that she would grieve over these remains just as some other mother would grieve over the remains of her son. This was the spirit of the times in this massive war where hundreds of thousands of young men were thrown together in a brotherhood of a single purpose and where families everywhere feared not only for their men at war but for all "our boys."
It appears all of us have stories to tell about war. When one has experienced PTSD in the family, the others get it too, by osmosis. Both parents were Holocaust victims and my father was a WWII vet for the US. He fought in the Pacific Theater and came back with jungle rot and varicose veins on his legs. He and my mother ran a clothing store for 25 years. He never ever spoke about his time in Papau New Guinea. Then I met my husband in 1970, a Vietnam Vet, who had a mental breakdown some 30 years after being in Nam. He nor I understood what was happening. It wasn’t until he went to our local vet center that he was told he had PTSD. Here’s where I get political, war is a man’s “thing”. It is very rare for women to cause these atrocities. Biden can get criticized for pulling us out of a country we didn’t belong in the first place, but he did the right thing! War is hell on the veterans and their family members. Everyone suffers. I tip my hat to all of the men and women who sacrifice their lives for ours.
Sorry to hear about your husband. PTSD was not recognized greatly amongst Vietnam Veterans in the seventies. I never got the feeling we were recognized properly either. I served from 68 - 71 in the USMC in Communications as a Crypto-Tech and left a Sergeant.
I still think of and miss my lost friends, Tim Gilson who was headshot in the north. Paul Placzek who stepped on a booby trap. Bobby O'Million who along with five others and his SFC died in a head on collision with a drunk while returning to base after a weekend hunting trip.
I do not believe we are ever the same after such times of being constantly under danger and fear. It wears on you and lingers in your head. I was and am still an excellent shot with an M14 and M1 rifle. All my skill as a Marksman could and would not be brought to bear to save two of them. I can't change my childhood friend's fate in a van from a drunk. What if we were never there those days? I also can't change it, but I can still remember.
The most I can do is remember them and the times we had as friends. I hope your husband can get past this.
In the late 70’s I was in law school and represented vets who had been dishonorably discharged from the service and were denied benefits as a result. We went to San Diego to hearings (I lived in LA) and argued on their behalf. I learned so much from the men I worked with. We won every appeal. I wish i could have done more. Looking back, I am sure many were Vietnam vets who were never diagnosed with PTSD.
Thank you for your reveal regarding your experience in an unpopular and unnecessary war, Bill. You aren’t the same person who left your home and then came back to a population who couldn’t understand why you were different. No one can enter your head to see what you witnessed.
My husband is very OCD about working out. He will be 76 in January but plays basketball 2-3 times a week, lifts weights and goes on the Precor 7 days a weeks. It gets him out and keeps him somewhat (that's questionable) sane, otherwise, he would be doomed to a very sorry life. He never ever wanted to own a gun after Nam and never has. He served in the Army primarily in Me Tho in ‘68-‘69.
Thank you, Nancy. So nice of you to comment. War is the destruction of all that is good and human. I will never understand how we think we can evolve and still make war on each other. So many great things we could do for humans with 770 BILLION dollars in the our bloated defense budget. The weapons makers get rich beyond their wildest dreams while our veterans commit suicide and drink themselves to death. Don’t get me started….
I am so deeply sorry about your fathers, Elisabeth and BK. What desperately sad memories to live with, but what brave, sensitive and truly human beings. My most sincere thanks for their service.
Elisabeth, my father was also a WWII vet who lived a silent, sad life, never talking of the horrors he witnessed and dying of alcoholism at 68. My oldest brother, a Vietnam vet, is currently hospitalized - congestive heart failure as a result of a lifetime addiction to cigarettes, a habit he picked up in Vietnam. My late husband, a Vietnam-era vet, died of ALS, which the VA considers a service related illness.
As always, I visited my dad and husband’s graves this past week at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. I find military cemeteries peaceful - a sea of simple white tombstones - many with Christmas wreaths in place already. My prayers were equally simple - deepest gratitude for their sacrifices that help keep us safe from fascism and the horrors of war. This year, I added my gratitude to my parents who insisted my brothers and I understand the need to be active citizens and serve the greater good.
I also sent a gift to Paralyzed Veterans of America, the group that advised me throughout Glen’s illness, and continue to check in on me. While I completely agree that our government should support veterans throughout their lives, groups like PVA advocate for veterans in real time and provide critical support services to families beyond what the VA can manage. Passing the PACT Act this year was great. But vets and their families need help every day. Let’s all find ways to help. Its our democracy they protect.
So beautifully written, Sheila. I also love all cemeteries and military cemeteries are very peaceful. My two uncles are buried at a very large one in Long Island. My cousins and I visited them in 2013. I will fight to the end for democracy and will always think of all the men and women who have died in our defense. I wish I could talk to my father and ease the pains he felt during his life. Oh my.
Sheila, I'm so sorry for your losses, and for your brother's congestive heart failure. I'm glad you find such meaning in visiting the graves, and I salute your parents for stressing the need for you to be active citizens--so important. I hope you have a good circle of family and close friends--we all need close connections.
I am so sorry about your father and his family. War takes a horrible toll. My father was in WWII. (We need to stop having sequels) When he passed away, I hired a Legion Honor Guard for his funeral. It was incredible. After they fired the volley, one by one, they approached my father's casket and placed a poppy in the seam. As a veteran myself, I didn't understand the significance. It is the bond and support of the community for veterans. As a Legionnaire, I am happy to sell poppies. I can spread community awareness, the story of the poppy, and why we serve.
I am very moved by your description. I have only admiration for what you do with the money you raise. I just felt it is a societal responsibility to provide adequately for our veterans and their families. Education is also of prime importance. Maybe we can inculcate in our children never to go to war under any circumstances….
My father was also a WWII veteran. Marine Corps. He fought on Okinawa. I was born 4 years after the war ended, and only learned after he died at the age of 90 that he had suffered from PTSD all those years.
It was undiagnosed in those days, and our family suffered a lot, though he was able to function in the world.
Learning of his PTSD near the end of his life explained a lot to me, and helped me forgive a lot.
He would never say much about his war experiences, but I read a book about the Battle of Okinawa and learned a lot. I cannot fathom what he, and everyone who has actually been in battle has gone or is going through!
We really must find ways to peace. But we will have to be strong because there are always some people in the world like Putin, and others we could all name, who will push the boundaries.
I was lucky. Both my father and his brother made it home unscathed by WWII. In fact, my father, who was stationed in what is now Ukraine, on each of two US bases in the former Soviet Union as a radar mechanic for the shuttle bombing (Operation Frantic), learned Russian, and got a career out of his service, as an expert on that country's economy. Luckier still: my siblings and I have nearly three hours worth of 1990 interviews by the BBC (probably Martin Sixsmith) on his experiences there.
if congress provides funds to take care of vets it is admitting what it has done, sent young meant into danger, often unnecessarily. it doesn't want to look at these men. it wants to see young men all in one piece marching off to another war, so it can forget about the last one. they will even allow a president to start a new conflict so they can forget about the old one
Taking care of veterans is not an admission of guilt. It is appreciation for our service. Are you suggesting that our military members are erroneously sent to war - which is hell - and then not taking care of them because doing so is owning their error and being accountable for it?
yes. congress has no appreciation for anyone's service. and taking adequate care of new vets would force congress to think about the cost of war. for the war they always have the money, but not for the aftermath.
Your view is in absolutes and far from reality - lack of understanding how the system works. I understand your antiwar stance. Every year, Congress approves the budget for the VA. The VA is always funded; even if the government is shutdown. While there is a financial cost with war, this isn't the reason for wars. My people in Congress have lost of loved one to war. Congress doesn't like war.
I cannot find your link. I am a veteran and I sell poppies in the summer as part of the American Legion. When my father passed away, I had a local Legion Honor Guard give ceremony at the funeral. Everyone, one by one, approached my father's casket and put a poppy in the crease.
Thank you BK. Thank you for your comment and your father’s bravery. 45 will never hold a candle to any of them. I hope they imprison his sorry ass forever….
BK - "When (so-called) 45 later called them all 'suckers & losers'"
Just to be fair:
Neither public claim was true, according to “four people with firsthand knowledge of the discussion that day” quoted in a new report by Jeffrey Goldberg in the Atlantic.
Just to be fair, Snopes and at least one other "truth" site I checked, shows 45 did say those words, tho I haven't read where he said them together. 45s history of bashing honorable people also gives credence, as I can totally hear it coming out of his mouth. Of course he says it's a lie, isn't everything according to him, when he is factually the master of lies.
He did say those words... in front of John Kelly, who at the time was Trump's Cheif of Staff and whose son is buried in Arlington Cemetery.
Trump also refused to go to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France on the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day because of his hair. They changed the narrative in Bolton's book to say the helicopter couldn't fly and the roads were not conducive to get the most powerful man in the world out should something happen. For lack of a better word, this is bullshit. How was he safe to go to North Korea? The military is better than that and the Cemetery is right off of 4 lane highway. Trump also believes D-Day was executed on a gorgeous sunny day. It was a torrential storm and many soldiers drowned. Trump's attitude... what was in it for them? It is their sacrifice that allows him to be a superficial idiot.
"Watch what they do, not what they say" applies to this situation. What we do know for certain is that 45 refused to travel a few miles to visit the WWI cemetery where US soldiers are buried. His excuse was that his helicopter couldn't fly in the rain. A lie made all the more egregious when not a week later he flew from the White House to Andrews in the rain. Even more egregious, world leaders who were also in France for the 75th commemoration, visited that cemetery without him. It was disgraceful.
Actually, Jeffrey Goldberg verified that Trump did say those words. Goldberg first said it in a Tweet on Sept. 3, 2020. Then, he went further in an Atlantic article:
In 2002, I was at Heathrow airport at 11:11 on 11/11 when an announcer called for 2 minutes silence to honor the war dead. For 2 minutes none of the thousands there moved or made a sound. It will remain in my memory forever.
I love those poppies in the UK. We had them when I was in grade school..I think we should do that again for Remembrance and Peace Day. We need to visualize more peace. I love learning about Armistice Day today, from our brilliant professor.
I remember when we had poppies here on Veterans Day as well. They were bouttonieres and were a lovely reminder. Walking around, wearing one on that day showed appreciation, and was a reminder to those just going thoughtlessly through their day to pause and reflect.
Thank you for sharing the poem. I hadn’t read it since I was at the WWI museum in Kansas City, MO several years ago. It is one of the best museums I’ve ever seen. We’ll worth the visit and really lays out the horror the troops endured. The entrance is over a clear bridge above a “field” of red poppies.
My husband and I were in Normandy and visited the Caen-Normandie Museum. I wish I could have spent more than a day. That totally brought it all to life.
I was fortunate enough to go to KC for work several times and would stay 2-3 weeks at a time. I never failed to spend an entire day in the WWI museum every time I went.
After a Veteran's Day spent reflecting on the impact of war on our soldier, a mere kid, seriously wounded in Dark To, this was a powerful read this morning. Thank you.
And Col. McCrae (who was a doctor) was among those who perished, although he was not interred in Flanders, technically, but nearby in the Pas de Calais region of France.
My great-uncle Geoffrey Hewson from Harrowgate, Yorkshire, was killed in France on July 20th, 1918 soon after arriving at the front. He is buried at the Marfaux British Cemetery in Marfaux, Marne, France.
He was cut down on Flanders Fields at the age of 21, in his first and last battle.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
~ John McCrae, May 1915
I learned that poem in third grade. Our class memorized it and recited it together. Even then, as an eight-year-old, I understood the gravity (hmm…grave; gravity. This is the first time I made that connection) - the gravity of the reason the poem was written.
Today is three days since the election that BARELY staved off an autocratic takeover of our country. It’s too soon to say if autocracy will be a part of our country’s future and it’s description. There is still plenty of room to doubt.
My family celebrates Thanksgiving on this weekend. It may be an occasion of perhaps greater thanksgiving than usual given the events of the last few years, and particularly given Tuesday’s results. It will be nice to be able to go to bed without laying awake worried about our country’s political health more than I worry about my own health! It’s not happening tonight, but soon, I hope, sooner rather than later.
Weirdly, my Mom just made an entire Turkey holiday dinner for us tonight. Apparently the bird was on some crazy sale and she didn't want to wait another two weeks lol. I think I'll retroactively consider it actual Thanksgiving, as you suggest, Betsy.
I'm holding judgement with great patience waiting for the Congessional results from the West Coast. If we come near a sweep of what's left to count (quite plausible) then the "miracle" will be complete and we can look forward to more Build Back Better next year. If not, I can bide my time til we finish the job. Progress isn't linear, eyes on the prize, etc. I'd be shocked mathematically if we didn't receive a popular vote when all is counted; the people clearly expressed a desire to move on from the crazy, no matter what the news told us we were supposed to care about. Those statehouse gains say it all, and will make an immediate differnce in the lives of 10s of millions. A cautiously hopeful and invigorating week indeed.
Dracula Dragon finally conceded here in Oregon, as gracelessly as possible. Tina in her speech yesterday called for unity, but not the R. Lack of grace must be in their genes. The Oregonian has called the race for the R in the 5th District, but so far no one else has. We'll see. Sixth still up in the air. Most counties are taking a three day weekend and will resume counting on Monday.
I was glad to see the Durzan gracelessly conceded. I think you're right; the lack of grace must be genetic.
Somehow, they all have emerged from the same pod that Leonard Leo produced. A pox should spread among them.
💜
The House race in SW WA’s 3rd district is never included in national reporting but that seat has flipped to Democrats. This was Jamie Herrara-Butler’s district. She was one of the R’s to vote for impeachment and she got primaried by a wackaloon.
Also of interest, the other WA rep who voted to impeach, Dan Newhouse, was re-elected to his seat. He represents a usually-red district. I think these two results demonstrate a weakening of R sentiment in more rural areas of WA.
I haven't seen the results of the 3rd district yet, so glad that Perez won. Joe Kent is one of the worst death star acolytes and I am glad he lost. Also glad to see the Newhouse wasn't punished for his vote.
Live in CA 13. Fingers and toes still crossed. With only 61% counted, the Republican leads by 84 votes over incumbent Dem. Total toss up
I have noticed a lowering of the anxiety level I felt up through Tuesday. Not gone by any means! But lower. Because now I know through their votes that there are many more fellow citizens who reject the authoritarians than we could be sure of before.
It's hard to get a sense of our numbers because the crazies take up so much air space!
We will be working to strengthen our weakened democracy for a long time, but as long as we don't go back to sleep, I believe we will progress toward a more just and sane future.
AND SPECIAL THANKS TO GEN Z VOTERS who really saved our a$$es! LOVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU! ❤️ 💕 ♥️ 💓 💖 💗 ❤️ 💕 🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤🤍
💙
💜
Grave, gravity, gravid. All from the same root.
And that was supposed to be the war to end all wars. Didn't happen, of course. We'll never learn, especially as long as we're controlled by the MIC. The tail continues to wag the dog.
Happy Veterans Day to all of us Veterans: past and present who represent so many nations of the world.
I hope I'm wrong, but I fear that aggression and warfare are in our genes, especially in those of young men. It would help if all of our young people had to perform some national service that required hard physical labor, which could be fixing the trails in the national parks, for example, or military service. Unfortunately, the need for the military isn't going to go away soon, but, on the other hand, we certainly should not be in thrall to the military-industrial complex (or to any other "complex" such as the financial-high tech-industrial complex). Such service would force people to get along with each other and help to remove the racial and other divisions in society.
Just dreaming a little here.
Dreaming along with you. It seems the more we try to not make war, the more the gods of War laugh. I so admire the Ukrainians who are showing us what sacrifice for Liberty means and it breaks my heart too. They’ve got a hard winter ahead of them. Life will no doubt be very difficult. And all this misery is because of the greed of one man. Unforgivable.
I don't imagine war itself is in the genes, but more that genetic traits in homo sapiens can lead to war. That is, the basic drives like survival and procreation which are then manipulated by a ruling governmental machine or social order--a machine which convinces the masses through propaganda that the "enemy" wants them dead. Sometimes it's true but mostly not. Most of U.S. propaganda about assorted Middle Eastern nations in the past few decades has been about encouraging us to go to war with them. We know that the Iraq war was based on falsehoods provided by Bush Jr. and Cheney. Colin Powell sacrificed his credibility to endorse the evil Iraq premise. He had to have been in a quid pro quo with Bush Jr. and Cheney.
I agree completely about the need for national service in the U.S. Every citizen should serve at least two years in service and sacrifice; not necessarily doing military service but something which provides benefit to the country. In my generation, those of us serving in the army in the late 1960s had a gross salary of $88.00 per month. That was before taxes and other deductions took some of that away. Our pay worked out to 11 cents an hour, less than one tenth of the then minimum wage of $1.25/hour. We were slave labor, and for that we could be shot and killed or have to shoot and kill someone else.
J. Wasn’t that JFK’s idea for the Peace Corps? And then VISTA here in the US. Those were wonderful programs and really did “help remove the racial and other divisions in society.” Thank you.
E - yes I agree those were/are wonderful programs. They still exist, but I haven't heard much about them for many years. Whether they removed the racial and other divisions in society is questionable, except for the people who were actually involved in the programs. But they are good models of what could be done on a larger scale.
MIC???
Military industrial complex
Thank you for this.
I've had the privilege of twice being in the UK on November 11, which they call Commemoration Day. Around that time the sale of poppies provides funds for vets services.
https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-involved/remembrance/about-remembrance/the-poppy
How sad that veterans have to sell poppies to get needed services. They earned them, it seems to me, by giving their lives to their country. As Bernie says, over and over, take the Defense budget and build decent housing, provide mental health services and give veterans a chance to have lives worth living. My father was a WWII veteran and lost two brothers in the war one month apart. It destroyed him and he lived a silent, sad life while struggling through his next forty years. He died at 62, way before he should have.
My dad was a WWII veteran, who watched his younger brother be killed. PTSD big time, alcohol problems. But with the help of my mother, he overcame his challenges with grief and emotional trauma to live a good life. When my Army son returned from a deployment in Afghanistan, he and my talked talked about their experiences. Daddy shared more stories about his two years in the Army than he ever had before. Everyone who experiences war is injured in some way, whether the wounds are visible or not.
FYI--George Washington argued with the Continental Congress to get the pay that his men had been promised. Since the beginning of the nation, veterans have had to fight for their benefits.
ANOTHER OF MY PERSONAL WRITINGS - THIS ONE FOR MEMORIAL DAY
Memorial to an Unknown Hero
by Rob Boyte 1987
It was 1983 when I wrote down my thoughts about Uncle Bob, the war hero whose legendary image affected my life. Always present but somehow less profound in my experience was his brother, my Uncle Bill.
Bill was the other soldier in uniform in a composite hand-painted photo portrait, which hung on the wall at my grandmother's. As with Bob, I only knew him through these photo images but unlike my namesake, he remained in the background of my awareness.
Perhaps it was because he died the very year that I was born and his passing had been muted by the years. It could also have been because he was just a teenager when he died, leaving no accumulated adult entanglements such as wife or children to perpetuate the memory of his passing.
He was however remembered. Each Memorial Day the family would go with my grandmother to the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery to watch the parade and hear the speeches and find uncle Bill's headstone in the rows of other stone markers of fallen heroes. Though I was quite young, I remember the sadness of the occasion, especially in my grandmother.
I also remember hearing her say that she knew it was possible that the body under the stone was not her Billy. But, it was another American boy who died in the war with him and she accepted that she would grieve over these remains just as some other mother would grieve over the remains of her son. This was the spirit of the times in this massive war where hundreds of thousands of young men were thrown together in a brotherhood of a single purpose and where families everywhere feared not only for their men at war but for all "our boys."
It appears all of us have stories to tell about war. When one has experienced PTSD in the family, the others get it too, by osmosis. Both parents were Holocaust victims and my father was a WWII vet for the US. He fought in the Pacific Theater and came back with jungle rot and varicose veins on his legs. He and my mother ran a clothing store for 25 years. He never ever spoke about his time in Papau New Guinea. Then I met my husband in 1970, a Vietnam Vet, who had a mental breakdown some 30 years after being in Nam. He nor I understood what was happening. It wasn’t until he went to our local vet center that he was told he had PTSD. Here’s where I get political, war is a man’s “thing”. It is very rare for women to cause these atrocities. Biden can get criticized for pulling us out of a country we didn’t belong in the first place, but he did the right thing! War is hell on the veterans and their family members. Everyone suffers. I tip my hat to all of the men and women who sacrifice their lives for ours.
Marlene:
Sorry to hear about your husband. PTSD was not recognized greatly amongst Vietnam Veterans in the seventies. I never got the feeling we were recognized properly either. I served from 68 - 71 in the USMC in Communications as a Crypto-Tech and left a Sergeant.
I still think of and miss my lost friends, Tim Gilson who was headshot in the north. Paul Placzek who stepped on a booby trap. Bobby O'Million who along with five others and his SFC died in a head on collision with a drunk while returning to base after a weekend hunting trip.
I do not believe we are ever the same after such times of being constantly under danger and fear. It wears on you and lingers in your head. I was and am still an excellent shot with an M14 and M1 rifle. All my skill as a Marksman could and would not be brought to bear to save two of them. I can't change my childhood friend's fate in a van from a drunk. What if we were never there those days? I also can't change it, but I can still remember.
The most I can do is remember them and the times we had as friends. I hope your husband can get past this.
It is good we left Afghanistan too.
In the late 70’s I was in law school and represented vets who had been dishonorably discharged from the service and were denied benefits as a result. We went to San Diego to hearings (I lived in LA) and argued on their behalf. I learned so much from the men I worked with. We won every appeal. I wish i could have done more. Looking back, I am sure many were Vietnam vets who were never diagnosed with PTSD.
Thank you for your reveal regarding your experience in an unpopular and unnecessary war, Bill. You aren’t the same person who left your home and then came back to a population who couldn’t understand why you were different. No one can enter your head to see what you witnessed.
My husband is very OCD about working out. He will be 76 in January but plays basketball 2-3 times a week, lifts weights and goes on the Precor 7 days a weeks. It gets him out and keeps him somewhat (that's questionable) sane, otherwise, he would be doomed to a very sorry life. He never ever wanted to own a gun after Nam and never has. He served in the Army primarily in Me Tho in ‘68-‘69.
My very best to you, Bill.
I'm so very sorry about your father. The trauma of war is horrible.
Thank you, Nancy. So nice of you to comment. War is the destruction of all that is good and human. I will never understand how we think we can evolve and still make war on each other. So many great things we could do for humans with 770 BILLION dollars in the our bloated defense budget. The weapons makers get rich beyond their wildest dreams while our veterans commit suicide and drink themselves to death. Don’t get me started….
I am so deeply sorry about your fathers, Elisabeth and BK. What desperately sad memories to live with, but what brave, sensitive and truly human beings. My most sincere thanks for their service.
Thank you, Rowshan. You touch me deeply….
My father showed how CIA estimates of Soviet military spending were grossly inflated (see the 6th paragraph)
https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/06/obituaries/franklyn-holzman-economist-and-critic-of-moscow-83-dies.html
Amazing history, David. I would have loved to have known your father. But I have the benefit of knowing you, here. Thank you!
Elisabeth, my father was also a WWII vet who lived a silent, sad life, never talking of the horrors he witnessed and dying of alcoholism at 68. My oldest brother, a Vietnam vet, is currently hospitalized - congestive heart failure as a result of a lifetime addiction to cigarettes, a habit he picked up in Vietnam. My late husband, a Vietnam-era vet, died of ALS, which the VA considers a service related illness.
As always, I visited my dad and husband’s graves this past week at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. I find military cemeteries peaceful - a sea of simple white tombstones - many with Christmas wreaths in place already. My prayers were equally simple - deepest gratitude for their sacrifices that help keep us safe from fascism and the horrors of war. This year, I added my gratitude to my parents who insisted my brothers and I understand the need to be active citizens and serve the greater good.
I also sent a gift to Paralyzed Veterans of America, the group that advised me throughout Glen’s illness, and continue to check in on me. While I completely agree that our government should support veterans throughout their lives, groups like PVA advocate for veterans in real time and provide critical support services to families beyond what the VA can manage. Passing the PACT Act this year was great. But vets and their families need help every day. Let’s all find ways to help. Its our democracy they protect.
So beautifully written, Sheila. I also love all cemeteries and military cemeteries are very peaceful. My two uncles are buried at a very large one in Long Island. My cousins and I visited them in 2013. I will fight to the end for democracy and will always think of all the men and women who have died in our defense. I wish I could talk to my father and ease the pains he felt during his life. Oh my.
Sheila, I'm so sorry for your losses, and for your brother's congestive heart failure. I'm glad you find such meaning in visiting the graves, and I salute your parents for stressing the need for you to be active citizens--so important. I hope you have a good circle of family and close friends--we all need close connections.
I am so sorry about your father and his family. War takes a horrible toll. My father was in WWII. (We need to stop having sequels) When he passed away, I hired a Legion Honor Guard for his funeral. It was incredible. After they fired the volley, one by one, they approached my father's casket and placed a poppy in the seam. As a veteran myself, I didn't understand the significance. It is the bond and support of the community for veterans. As a Legionnaire, I am happy to sell poppies. I can spread community awareness, the story of the poppy, and why we serve.
I am very moved by your description. I have only admiration for what you do with the money you raise. I just felt it is a societal responsibility to provide adequately for our veterans and their families. Education is also of prime importance. Maybe we can inculcate in our children never to go to war under any circumstances….
My father was also a WWII veteran. Marine Corps. He fought on Okinawa. I was born 4 years after the war ended, and only learned after he died at the age of 90 that he had suffered from PTSD all those years.
It was undiagnosed in those days, and our family suffered a lot, though he was able to function in the world.
Learning of his PTSD near the end of his life explained a lot to me, and helped me forgive a lot.
He would never say much about his war experiences, but I read a book about the Battle of Okinawa and learned a lot. I cannot fathom what he, and everyone who has actually been in battle has gone or is going through!
We really must find ways to peace. But we will have to be strong because there are always some people in the world like Putin, and others we could all name, who will push the boundaries.
I was lucky. Both my father and his brother made it home unscathed by WWII. In fact, my father, who was stationed in what is now Ukraine, on each of two US bases in the former Soviet Union as a radar mechanic for the shuttle bombing (Operation Frantic), learned Russian, and got a career out of his service, as an expert on that country's economy. Luckier still: my siblings and I have nearly three hours worth of 1990 interviews by the BBC (probably Martin Sixsmith) on his experiences there.
You might want to read "All Quiet on the Western Front."
Thanks for the suggestion. I'll check it out.
That happened to far, far too many men. I am so sorry.
😔
if congress provides funds to take care of vets it is admitting what it has done, sent young meant into danger, often unnecessarily. it doesn't want to look at these men. it wants to see young men all in one piece marching off to another war, so it can forget about the last one. they will even allow a president to start a new conflict so they can forget about the old one
Taking care of veterans is not an admission of guilt. It is appreciation for our service. Are you suggesting that our military members are erroneously sent to war - which is hell - and then not taking care of them because doing so is owning their error and being accountable for it?
yes. congress has no appreciation for anyone's service. and taking adequate care of new vets would force congress to think about the cost of war. for the war they always have the money, but not for the aftermath.
Your view is in absolutes and far from reality - lack of understanding how the system works. I understand your antiwar stance. Every year, Congress approves the budget for the VA. The VA is always funded; even if the government is shutdown. While there is a financial cost with war, this isn't the reason for wars. My people in Congress have lost of loved one to war. Congress doesn't like war.
Sorry about your father.
Just a small correction: it's not the vets who are selling poppies (though some might). The link I posted above provides details and context.
I cannot find your link. I am a veteran and I sell poppies in the summer as part of the American Legion. When my father passed away, I had a local Legion Honor Guard give ceremony at the funeral. Everyone, one by one, approached my father's casket and put a poppy in the crease.
Flanders's Fields.
Here you go: https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-involved/remembrance/about-remembrance/the-poppy
Thank you BK. Thank you for your comment and your father’s bravery. 45 will never hold a candle to any of them. I hope they imprison his sorry ass forever….
My dad too at age 60.
BK - "When (so-called) 45 later called them all 'suckers & losers'"
Just to be fair:
Neither public claim was true, according to “four people with firsthand knowledge of the discussion that day” quoted in a new report by Jeffrey Goldberg in the Atlantic.
"𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥." --Alex Ward, VOX
Just to be fair, Snopes and at least one other "truth" site I checked, shows 45 did say those words, tho I haven't read where he said them together. 45s history of bashing honorable people also gives credence, as I can totally hear it coming out of his mouth. Of course he says it's a lie, isn't everything according to him, when he is factually the master of lies.
I distinctly remember 45 saying those words.
It should say "site" not "sure"
He did say those words... in front of John Kelly, who at the time was Trump's Cheif of Staff and whose son is buried in Arlington Cemetery.
Trump also refused to go to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France on the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day because of his hair. They changed the narrative in Bolton's book to say the helicopter couldn't fly and the roads were not conducive to get the most powerful man in the world out should something happen. For lack of a better word, this is bullshit. How was he safe to go to North Korea? The military is better than that and the Cemetery is right off of 4 lane highway. Trump also believes D-Day was executed on a gorgeous sunny day. It was a torrential storm and many soldiers drowned. Trump's attitude... what was in it for them? It is their sacrifice that allows him to be a superficial idiot.
"Watch what they do, not what they say" applies to this situation. What we do know for certain is that 45 refused to travel a few miles to visit the WWI cemetery where US soldiers are buried. His excuse was that his helicopter couldn't fly in the rain. A lie made all the more egregious when not a week later he flew from the White House to Andrews in the rain. Even more egregious, world leaders who were also in France for the 75th commemoration, visited that cemetery without him. It was disgraceful.
Actually, Jeffrey Goldberg verified that Trump did say those words. Goldberg first said it in a Tweet on Sept. 3, 2020. Then, he went further in an Atlantic article:
https://twitter.com/JeffreyGoldberg/status/1301634784448438272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1301673157699407873%7Ctwgr%5E329729c9629433091cc71cf2ceb621ee39ecafd4%7Ctwcon%5Es3_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2F2020%2F9%2F4%2F21422733%2Fatlantic-trump-military-suckers-losers-explained
In 2002, I was at Heathrow airport at 11:11 on 11/11 when an announcer called for 2 minutes silence to honor the war dead. For 2 minutes none of the thousands there moved or made a sound. It will remain in my memory forever.
Wow! What a moving experience.
We need that here. Increase some some people's consciousness about war and loss.
The whole nation lived the war. No one escaped some form of sacrifice
I love those poppies in the UK. We had them when I was in grade school..I think we should do that again for Remembrance and Peace Day. We need to visualize more peace. I love learning about Armistice Day today, from our brilliant professor.
....Something physical and funds things—to remind us it is not just a three-day weekend in America.
I agree. The history of poppies should be taught in our world history classes, if those are around anymore.
The latter part of your statement is certainly the ring of problematic Truth these days...
I remember when we had poppies here on Veterans Day as well. They were bouttonieres and were a lovely reminder. Walking around, wearing one on that day showed appreciation, and was a reminder to those just going thoughtlessly through their day to pause and reflect.
As a US citizen residing in England, I am more used to the word “Remembrance”.
US used to sell red poppy pins the week of Veterans Day
We can follow this poem with Eric Bogle's moving song, "The Green Fields of France" (thanks to Katya P on Facebook):
https://youtu.be/DxkhBvO8_kM
That was lovely, Ellie.
Lovely and oh so sad. I heard it last decades ago, and I'd forgotten about it until just now. What a voice Eric Bogle has.
Thank you for sharing the poem. I hadn’t read it since I was at the WWI museum in Kansas City, MO several years ago. It is one of the best museums I’ve ever seen. We’ll worth the visit and really lays out the horror the troops endured. The entrance is over a clear bridge above a “field” of red poppies.
My husband and I were in Normandy and visited the Caen-Normandie Museum. I wish I could have spent more than a day. That totally brought it all to life.
I was fortunate enough to go to KC for work several times and would stay 2-3 weeks at a time. I never failed to spend an entire day in the WWI museum every time I went.
Thank you for this touching poem.
After a Veteran's Day spent reflecting on the impact of war on our soldier, a mere kid, seriously wounded in Dark To, this was a powerful read this morning. Thank you.
And Col. McCrae (who was a doctor) was among those who perished, although he was not interred in Flanders, technically, but nearby in the Pas de Calais region of France.
My great-uncle Geoffrey Hewson from Harrowgate, Yorkshire, was killed in France on July 20th, 1918 soon after arriving at the front. He is buried at the Marfaux British Cemetery in Marfaux, Marne, France.
He was cut down on Flanders Fields at the age of 21, in his first and last battle.
Thank you, thank you for the great peom!!!
In the 50s and60s, Veterans sold red poppy pins the week of Veterans Day.
They were everywhere.
When you see people selling poppies, it is for the veterans. There isn't a set cost. What ever you would like to donate.