Happy Armistice Day!

[Texan]

This holiday marks the end of the hostilities on the Western front of WW1. We have since usurped the occasion in the US to celebrate Veteran's Day. I'm not sure if Armistice Day is still celebrated around the world, but it feels good to be recognized for a day in the states. Most businesses don't shut down for the day, but many restaurants give free meals to veterans. I used to spend the day with my father in law getting free meals. He was such a cheapskate, but a very honest, hard working, and loving man. I look forward to the day when my son is around so that I will have a close veteran friend to pal around with.

I'll be working with my friend Jim on Veteran's Day, tomorrow. Maybe he will want to go grab a free meal with me after work. He is a US Navy veteran. Of course we tip the wait staff as if the meal was full cost.

My service was all stateside. I fixed instruments and flight controls on F-111s in Clovis, NM. I was active duty during Desert Storm, but my squadron was pulled from deployment at the last moment. I spent most of my military career on the late shift. I learned to work by flashlight and I enjoyed listening to the coyotes while I worked. I made some really good friends. The work was hard and the pay wasn't the best, but my military service was the time and place that defined my life. I met my wife, started a family, and finished college while in New Mexico.

This is my first Veteran's Day without my Uncle Clay. He was exposed to agent orange in Viet Nam. People spit on him and called him names when he returned. I was in diapers at the time and didn't know about it until a couple of years ago. My military experience was nothing but positive, but I know that that's not typical.

Any veterans with stories of your service? Thank you in advance.

[Bobby]

It's not a happy day -
it's a very sad day to remember all those people
who never got to live their lives as we have.
They were killed mostly as young men in horrific wars -
many were sent there against their will.
In WW1 most were killed after being sent over the top of trenches
to charge machine guns or they were shelled - blown to pieces.

[billy the kid]

I recall the fear and trepidation I experienced when I was 20.
I hoped that my date of birth did not come out of the barrel which would
have sent me to VietNam to be shot at and maybe finish up with a bullet in
my head.
Some of my mates were "called up"...and went to VietNam...
They never came back...
All because our politicians had to kow tow to the USA...
I remember on Anzac Day and Remembrance Day the sacrifices people made for this country.
When I attend an RSL Club I stand for the Ode when it is played at 6pm and remember once
again.
My late Grandfather fought in WWI at Villers Bretonneux.
I proudly watched him march every Anzac Day...
I loved him dearly...
Happy Armistace Day....
Not really...
Proud..yes...happy...no....

[Bobby]

I recall the fear and trepidation I experienced when I was 20.
I hoped that my date of birth did not come out of the barrel which would
have sent me to VietNam to be shot at and maybe finish up with a bullet in
my head.
Some of my mates were "called up"...and went to VietNam...
They never came back...
All because our politicians had to kow tow to the USA...
I remember on Anzac Day and Remembrance Day the sacrifices people made for this country.
When I attend an RSL Club I stand for the Ode when it is played at 6pm and remember once
again.
My late Grandfather fought in WWI at Villers Bretonneux.
I proudly watched him march every Anzac Day...
I loved him dearly...
Happy Armistace Day....
Not really...
Proud..yes...happy...no....

One of my grandfathers fought at the battle of the Somme.
He went over the top 13 times and the bullets never hit him but
they did hit other soldiers to the left and right of him.
It was pure luck that he lived.

[billy the kid]

[Texan]

I recall the fear and trepidation I experienced when I was 20.
I hoped that my date of birth did not come out of the barrel which would
have sent me to VietNam to be shot at and maybe finish up with a bullet in
my head.
Some of my mates were "called up"...and went to VietNam...
They never came back...
All because our politicians had to kow tow to the USA...
I remember on Anzac Day and Remembrance Day the sacrifices people made for this country.
When I attend an RSL Club I stand for the Ode when it is played at 6pm and remember once
again.
My late Grandfather fought in WWI at Villers Bretonneux.
I proudly watched him march every Anzac Day...
I loved him dearly...
Happy Armistace Day....
Not really...
Proud..yes...happy...no....

We remember our military casualties on Memorial Day in America. That is where we remember those who have fallen on the battle field for our benefit. That's where we remember my wife's Uncle Allen, who died as a POW after the Bataan Death March at the start of WW2. In America, Veteran's Day is where we celebrate the veterans who still live among us. I'm sorry for your losses and I'm glad you got to know your grandfather. My wife had a pair of grandparents that she never met. Her parents were 39-40 when she was born.

[Black Orchid]

My great uncle died in Belgium in WW1. My great grandfather was presented with the painting Menin Gate at Midnight in his honour with a plaque. I still have it. Eerie painting.



As an aside I went to a site and had to clear this message before I could enter.

WARNING
This website contains names images and voices of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

What the ... ?

[Bobby]

My great uncle died in Belgium in WW1. My great grandfather was presented with the painting Menin Gate at Midnight in his honour with a plaque. I still have it. Eerie painting.



As an aside I went to a site and had to clear this message before I could enter.

WARNING
This website contains names images and voices of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

What the ... ?

See a closeup -
ghostly soldiers march across the canvas:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... aff%29.jpg


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menin_Gate_at_Midnight

Menin Gate at Midnight (also known as Ghosts of Menin Gate) is a 1927 painting by Australian artist Will Longstaff. The painting depicts a host of ghostly soldiers marching across a field in front of the Menin Gate war memorial.[1] The painting is part of the collection of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.[2]

Longstaff painted the work after attending the unveiling of the Menin Gate memorial, at Ypres in Belgium, on 24 July 1927. The memorial commemorated those men of the British Empire, including Australia, who died in the battles of the First World War around the town.[1] Walking around the streets of Ypres after the ceremony, Longstaff was said to have seen a "vision of steel-helmeted spirits rising from the moonlit cornfields around him".[1] Returning to London, Longstaff was reported to have painted the work in a single session, while "still under psychic influence".[1]

The painting was immediately popular. It was purchased by Lord Woolavington for 2,000 Guineas and presented to the Australian government.[1] After a royal command viewing for George V and the Royal family at Buckingham Palace, the painting was displayed in Manchester and Glasgow. It was then taken around Australia, where record crowds paid to view the work. Longstaff oversaw the making of 2,000 prints and 400 of these were given to the nascent Australian War Memorial to sell to raise funds.[1]

The success of this work lead Longstaff to paint three later companion pieces with a similar ghostly, spiritualist theme:[

[Black Orchid]

It's eerie and in the garage

[Bobby]

It's eerie and in the garage

So - you have one of the 2,000 original prints?