Thank you for the excellent piece. My Canadian grandfather fought and flew in The Great War, and now that all of those vets are gone, their memories are left in a shrinking populace. We need to be regularly reminded of what happened and where it led, in many ways shaping events today.
My Grandpa lied about his age and volunteered for the Canadian Cavalry (we have a photo of his horse) along with his best friend. Grandpa came back with a Purple Heart, his friend did not. Grandpa married his friend's younger sister, and that's why I'm here. My G'parents took Remembrance Day seriously (they were living in US by then), poppies and all. Never forget.
Cheers, thanks for the reply. My grandfather returned, having been wounded after being shot down in 1918 (back-seater in a Brisfit, dragged his pilot out of the burning wreckage, the Lt. pilot got a medal, my grandfather didn't :) ), married my grandfather, my mother was born in Toronto, and they emigrated to the US, and that's why I'm here. My grandfather never stepped foot into another airplane until the day he died in 1972. God bless all of those who served and died. I did visit Vimy Ridge a few years ago, my grandfather and many Canadians fought there, quite something.
Thank you for that great family story! Oral history is as important as the written kind. I have my great-uncle-whom-I never-met-because-he-died's Silver Star and my sis has Grandpa's service 45 and the photo of his horse. Because my Dad was born in Canada, when he joined the US Navy Air force in WWII, they wouldn't let him pilot, despite being qualified. So he was a tail-gunner, even less safe than the back-seat pilot.
You're very welcome. And that's quite a story about your father! My father graduated from high school in 1944 and of course all of the young men in his senior class were immediately drafted. He went into the Army, and when he was training in Leyte for the first wave of the invasion of Kyushu planned for November 1945, the atomic bombs were dropped and the war ended. He served in the Occupation forces, and was called up in the reserves to serve in Korea. He passed away a few months ago, age 96. The WW2 generation is almost gone.
that's creepily familiar! My Dad (died in '17, aged 93, exactly one year to the day after my mom) took Grandpa's advice, "Never volunteer." So, during the war, my dad slowly worked his way westward from Chicago, ending up in Oakland awaiting a carrier for the last push in '45. Then we dropped the bombs, and he never saw action, or even participated in the overseas occupation. Given that he was a tail-gunner, the Bomb is likely another reason I'm here.
Tons of paper have been used to describe WWI and its causes, but that conflict did not happen in isolation. I would recommend to all of Sal's readers a YouTube channel called "The Great War", which not only treats that subject well and respectfully, but also deals with its predecessors and those events happening afterwards. I suggest watching its episode on the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913. That series of conflicts, and the injustices seen by the combatants after the war, could be read as nearly guaranteeing the spark that formally set off WWI.
Perhaps its because we Americans have a relatively short national history, but we seem much quicker as a nation to move on after a war. We need to remember that most other countries do not.
Verdun. 75 million artillery rounds. Three quarters of a million known dead. In France, men were rounded up, put on trains, sent to Verdun, herded off, handed rifles and sent to the hills to fight. No one knows.
Don't forget the 1918-19 Influenza, the first fully global pandemic, which was spread by returning troops and took out another chunk of young people after the war.
Thank you for the excellent piece. My Canadian grandfather fought and flew in The Great War, and now that all of those vets are gone, their memories are left in a shrinking populace. We need to be regularly reminded of what happened and where it led, in many ways shaping events today.
My Grandpa lied about his age and volunteered for the Canadian Cavalry (we have a photo of his horse) along with his best friend. Grandpa came back with a Purple Heart, his friend did not. Grandpa married his friend's younger sister, and that's why I'm here. My G'parents took Remembrance Day seriously (they were living in US by then), poppies and all. Never forget.
Cheers, thanks for the reply. My grandfather returned, having been wounded after being shot down in 1918 (back-seater in a Brisfit, dragged his pilot out of the burning wreckage, the Lt. pilot got a medal, my grandfather didn't :) ), married my grandfather, my mother was born in Toronto, and they emigrated to the US, and that's why I'm here. My grandfather never stepped foot into another airplane until the day he died in 1972. God bless all of those who served and died. I did visit Vimy Ridge a few years ago, my grandfather and many Canadians fought there, quite something.
Thank you for that great family story! Oral history is as important as the written kind. I have my great-uncle-whom-I never-met-because-he-died's Silver Star and my sis has Grandpa's service 45 and the photo of his horse. Because my Dad was born in Canada, when he joined the US Navy Air force in WWII, they wouldn't let him pilot, despite being qualified. So he was a tail-gunner, even less safe than the back-seat pilot.
You're very welcome. And that's quite a story about your father! My father graduated from high school in 1944 and of course all of the young men in his senior class were immediately drafted. He went into the Army, and when he was training in Leyte for the first wave of the invasion of Kyushu planned for November 1945, the atomic bombs were dropped and the war ended. He served in the Occupation forces, and was called up in the reserves to serve in Korea. He passed away a few months ago, age 96. The WW2 generation is almost gone.
that's creepily familiar! My Dad (died in '17, aged 93, exactly one year to the day after my mom) took Grandpa's advice, "Never volunteer." So, during the war, my dad slowly worked his way westward from Chicago, ending up in Oakland awaiting a carrier for the last push in '45. Then we dropped the bombs, and he never saw action, or even participated in the overseas occupation. Given that he was a tail-gunner, the Bomb is likely another reason I'm here.
We are indeed fortunate, aren't we? Cheers!
Tons of paper have been used to describe WWI and its causes, but that conflict did not happen in isolation. I would recommend to all of Sal's readers a YouTube channel called "The Great War", which not only treats that subject well and respectfully, but also deals with its predecessors and those events happening afterwards. I suggest watching its episode on the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913. That series of conflicts, and the injustices seen by the combatants after the war, could be read as nearly guaranteeing the spark that formally set off WWI.
Perhaps its because we Americans have a relatively short national history, but we seem much quicker as a nation to move on after a war. We need to remember that most other countries do not.
Verdun. 75 million artillery rounds. Three quarters of a million known dead. In France, men were rounded up, put on trains, sent to Verdun, herded off, handed rifles and sent to the hills to fight. No one knows.
From Canadian John MaCrae 1872-1918
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.
Don't forget the 1918-19 Influenza, the first fully global pandemic, which was spread by returning troops and took out another chunk of young people after the war.