Veterans Day

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

God Bless the Vets.


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.

Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD, Canadian Army
(In Canada, today is known as Remembrance Day)

[k4kyv]

(In Canada, today is known as Remembrance Day)

I can recall when in the USA it was called Armistice Day, in observance of the end of WW1.  Sometime in the 50's it was renamed to include veterans of all wars.

Fewer than 50 WW1 veterans are still alive.  Of 16 million Americans who served in WW2, only 3.5 million are still alive, and they are now dying off at the rate of about 1,000 a day.

By far the largest group of living veterans is now the VietNam veterans, 8.1 million.

Interestingly, the total number of Americans serving in WW2 is only about double the number living 'Nam vets, if these statistics from the Census Bureau and Department of Veterans Affairs is accurate and reported correctly.  Could this be right?

I can recall when the last Civil War veteran died, sometime in the mid to late '50's. It doesn't seem that long ago that Spanish-American vets were still around, most WW1 vets hadn't even reached retirement age, and WW2 vets weren't particularly "old."

The sword of Charlemagne the just
Is ferric oxide, known as rust.
The tusks of mastodons in brawl
Are now billiard balls.
Great Caesar's bust is on the shelf
And I don't feel so well myself.

-Author unknown

Remember, the purpose of Veterans Day is to celebrate the sacrifices of the soldiers who fought in wars, not to celebrate the wars they fought in.

[WA1GFZ]

Right On HUZ Man!

Sometimes you just can't avoid making new ones!