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Starbug

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http://www.kamloopsn...iles-of-courage

Here are six profiles of Vets in action from my local paper, rare stories from the front. Some from WW2, some from Afganistan, one from Bosnia which is the one that impacted me the most. Say what you will about the politics of war but the courage and dedication of these men is unquestionable and they humble me, deeply.

Edited by nucklehead
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  • 11 months later...

All victims of statism. Every single one. On both sides.

So long as people continue to believe in statism, they died in vain.

You can still at least attempt to show respect for those who died, no? Or is everything about ideology.

Jesus....

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You can still at least attempt to show respect for those who died, no? Or is everything about ideology.

Jesus....

How am I not showing respect? I see a waste of human lives over false divisions (nation-states) made real in their heads.

And if you cannot face the truth then that's your own major malfunction.

1175608_202614426567064_303686926_n.png

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How am I not showing respect? I see a waste of human lives over false divisions (nation-states) made real in their heads.

And if you cannot face the truth then that's your own major malfunction.

1175608_202614426567064_303686926_n.png

You don't get it do you...there's a time and place for every person's soapbox. I didn't even argue the content of your message; I only argued that it is il-timed.

One day you'll figure it out.

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You don't get it do you...there's a time and place for every person's soapbox. I didn't even argue the content of your message; I only argued that it is il-timed.

One day you'll figure it out.

The timing is right because it's the only of year when the history gets any attention.

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While I don't disagree with your statement… it lacks historical context. Statism, whether it be to a nation or city, is the natural environment of human civilization for the last 10,000 years.

I'm all for change…. we are ALL equal, after all… but I'm also for suggested paths to end the fact. Dissolving the borders overnight isn't a viable option.

Myself, I go to the cenotaph every year to lay me respects and this year will be no different, because I have two close family members that we're KIA and my grandfather was a vet of both WWI and WWII (he's an interesting story and I'd be happy to share). I'm only here today from the luck of inches.

While I am the last person to defend war, I both respect and honour the uncountable that have died in human history. The vast majority of them's reasons were for love of family and friend.

If they we're mislead then they, in addition to the rest of society, were victims too and ultimately so. They are us and we are them. To not honour them is to not honour ourselves. If that's the case then we miss the best of us.

If you agree at all then maybe you should honour the dead too.

Yes, respect and honour them by learning from past mistakes so that their death will not be meaninglessly in vain.

Lest we forget...to learn.

And this thread is an appropriate one for war stories...

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Europe209.jpg

Remembrance Day is fast approaching, that time of year set aside to show our appreciation for all that was sacrificed for the good of others.

Hundreds of thousands of men and women have given their time, their health (mental and/or physical), and even their lives in an effort to make the world a better place. They might have done this as a fighting soldier, a peacekeeping soldier, or even as a civilian. War veterans and survivors have lived through horrors we couldn't even begin to imagine. For too many, that was the last thing they experienced before their death.

Please, take a moment or two to reflect on what these people sacrificed so we can live the lives we have today. We can't afford to lose sight of how the freedoms we have today were earned.

Vimy Ridge, France:

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Inscribed around the base of the monument are the names of those whose final resting places are unknown. My sig is an example of a portion of that wall.

Europe099.jpg

Ypres, Belgium:

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As with Vimy Ridge, those are names (54,896 of them) inscribed on the walls of the monument.

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Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae sat at these very bunkers when he penned what is among the best-known poems out there:

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.

That torch is now in Afghanistan; those men and women fighting over there are now war veterans. They shouldn't be forgotten when it comes to acknowledging the sacrifices made over the years.

(Please, no fighting about Afghanistan here; if you must, take it to another thread)

Photos from my trip can be found in Post 60, Post 61, and Post 62.

Awesome

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While I don't disagree with your statement… it lacks historical context. Statism, whether it be to a nation or city, is the natural environment of human civilization for the last 10,000 years.

I'm all for change…. we are ALL equal, after all… but I'm also for suggested paths to end the fact. Dissolving the borders overnight isn't a viable option.

Myself, I go to the cenotaph every year to lay me respects and this year will be no different, because I have two close family members that we're KIA and my grandfather was a vet of both WWI and WWII (he's an interesting story and I'd be happy to share). I'm only here today from the luck of inches.

While I am the last person to defend war, I both respect and honour the uncountable that have died in human history. The vast majority of them's reasons were for love of family and friend.

If they we're mislead then they, in addition to the rest of society, were victims too and ultimately so. They are us and we are them. To not honour them is to not honour ourselves. If that's the case then we miss the best of us.

If you agree at all then maybe you should honour the dead too.

Good post.. I too don't favor war, but respect those who give/gave their lives to protect everyone else...

To think they even gave their lives to those people who disrespect them to this day.

Something like that makes my blood boil.

IMO It takes real bravery to give up ones life for uncertainty in the afterlife..

It's a shame we don't respect our soldiers as much as we should.

As for future conflicts its hard for me to say which side I would choose...

Considering the fact I don't like any war in the MENA and Asia.

Edited by drummer4now
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Yes, respect and honour them by learning from past mistakes so that their death will not be meaninglessly in vain.

Lest we forget...to learn.

And this thread is an appropriate one for war stories...

I wrote this some time ago in our CDCGML thread…. and did it as a 4chan green text style for fun.

>be my father's father

>be born in 1896 in Newcastle, Northumberland, England

>be 17 when WWI starts

>get parents to sign letter so he can enlist in the Durham Light Infantry underage

>be home by Christmas, he thinks

>be at all of the worst battles including Ypres, Passchendaele, Loos, Cambrai and the Somme

>survive the Somme where 1,000,000 soldiers die including 30,000+ on the first day alone

>finish WWI after 5 promotions (because the lucky bastard is one of the only originals from the start of the war left alive) as a Quartermaster Sargaent

>he is 21

>after the war Winston Churchill says "I don't know if the DLI is the best fighting force in Britain but I know of none better"

>goes to college and obtains math degree

>becomes a professional footballer because, frack, "why not?" Living on borrowed time.

>quits football to open his own boy's school as Headmaster, school still exists today

>gets married, has my uncle in 1937

>1939 WWII starts, stupid idiot re-enlists. he is 43 years old

>refuses officer's commission because he wants to go to the front, retains rank of QMS

>feels deep seeded responsibility to protect the kids or impart his knowledge of war or some hero crap

>bad idea, is evacuated in a fishing boat from Dunkirk

>military command promotes him to Quarter Master Sargaent Instructor because of his experience as a teacher

>spends the rest of the war training and sending some of the boys from his school off to die

>he is apparently deeply affected by this realization

>has my father in 1944, he is now 47 years old

>WWII ends, he goes back to being Headmaster of his school

>for kicks becomes a famous Square Dance caller on BBC radio

>spends the rest of his life on reconciliation with boy's clubs in both Britain and Germany

>arranges for boys to visit each other's countries so they can see the devastation on both sides and learn that it was no good for anyone

>has seen too much war and never wants it to happen again

>dies of heart attack in 1953, heavy drinker, smoker, emotionality stunted, he was 57

>my grandfather survived fighting in two world wars, probably an inch from death multiple times, gets taken out by a bottle of whiskey

>my grandfather would be 117 years old if he were still alive

>I exist because of his dumb luck

>is one of the people in all of history I would like to be able to meet

Edited by theminister
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I wrote this some time ago in our CDCGML thread…. and did it as a 4chan green text style for fun.

>be my father's father

>be born in 1896 in Newcastle, Northumberland, England

>be 17 when WWI starts

>get parents to sign letter so he can enlist in the Durham Light Infantry underage

>be home by Christmas, he thinks

>be at all of the worst battles including Ypres, Passchendaele, Loos, Cambrai and the Somme

>survive the Somme where 1,000,000 soldiers die including 30,000+ on the first day alone

>finish WWI after 5 promotions (because the lucky bastard is one of the only originals from the start of the war left alive) as a Quartermaster Sargaent

>he is 21>after the war Winston Churchill says "I don't know if the DLI is the best fighting force in Britain but I know of none better"

>goes to college and obtains math degree

>becomes a professional footballer because, frack, "why not?" Living on borrowed time.

>quits football to open his own boy's school as Headmaster, school still exists today

>gets married, has my uncle in 1937

>1939 WWII starts, stupid idiot re-enlists. he is 43 years old

>refuses officer's commission because he wants to go to the front, retains rank of QMS

>feels deep seeded responsibility to protect the kids or impart his knowledge of war or some hero crap

>bad idea, is evacuated in a fishing boat from Dunkirk

>military command promotes him to Quarter Master Sargaent Instructor because of his experience as a teacher

>spends the rest of the war training and sending some of the boys from his school off to die

>he is apparently deeply affected by this realization

>has my father in 1944, he is now 47 years old

>WWII ends, he goes back to being Headmaster of his school

>for kicks becomes a famous Square Dance caller on BBC radio

>spends the rest of his life on reconciliation with boy's clubs in both Britain and Germany

>arranges for boys to visit each other's countries so they can see the devastation on both sides and learn that it was no good for anyone

>has seen too much war and never wants it to happen again

>dies of heart attack in 1953, heavy drinker, smoker, emotionality stunted, he was 57

>my grandfather survived fighting in two world wars, probably an inch from death multiple times, gets taken out by a bottle of whiskey

>my grandfather would be 117 years old if he were still alive>I exist because of his dumb luck>is one of the people in all of history I would like to be able to meet

Thanks for the post.

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