A re-post from Remembrance Day 2018.
At the 11 hour of the 11 day of the 11th month, I will observe a minute of silence in remembrance.
One hundred years ago, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the guns fell silent in No Man’s Land – the end of the “war to end all wars.”
On October 31, 1917, during the Second Battle of Passchendaele, my great-uncle Earle went missing, presumed dead. His body was never found. His brother, Grover, survived the war, returning home in 1918. On a foggy night, eight years later, he and my great-grandfather died when their wooden schooner was sliced in two by a metal-hulled steamer. A family grave marker commemorates both events.
Wooden sailing ships and metal steamers meeting in the fog: an adept analogy for World War One?
Sites I’ve been visiting lately regarding World War One:
the world remembers (a multi-year project to display the names of the dead on buildings through the world)
all is calm (play about the “unofficial” Christmas Day Truce in 1914)
Chinese Labor Corps (WW1)
Over The Top (interactive video game based on experiences of Canadian troops in WW1 from the Canadian War Museum site)
Another of my Remembrance/Veteran’s Day posts on World War One: Why Canadians Wear Poppies
A story I’ve yet to write: the “what if” part of me who has always speculated that as Great-Uncle Earle’s body (common occurrence in the mud and trenches) was never found, perhaps he DID survive the war and . . .
Take a moment, today, at 11 o’clock to reflect on this hundredth anniversary, and to hope some day there will be an end to war everywhere. As John Lennon sang: “give peace a chance.”
Image: Mud from the Canadian Archives via Wikipedia
November 11, 2019 at 7:09 pm
Records in my local community show that 80$ of all young folk who left for overseas conflict in the first world war never came home. The grieving on farms, communities, and long dead now horses and dogs who waited longingly, lingers eternally, yet HOPE rises for us ALL for an eternal TOMORROW. Remembrance 11th November. Gratitude indeed for the service and sacrifice of all who fought believing it was for their country then and still stand and protect us today.
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January 13, 2020 at 9:18 pm
My grandpa fortunately emerged from Passchendaele but deaf and traumatized. He worked as a letter carrier for Canada Post and through shrewd real estate investments made a good living. He always kept coal in the cellar, butter in the larder (memories of cold and hunger in the trenches) and cash in over 30 bank accounts (fear of bank failure). He was devastated when my dad volunteered for military service in WWII. Dad also came home with PTSD. I am humbled by their ability to survive and thrive.
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January 18, 2020 at 7:13 am
Annette:
Thanks for dropping by and sharing the story about your grandfather. I am also humbled by the stories of military and civilian populations surviving and thriving despite the ravages of war — on the battlefield and in the home.
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November 11, 2019 at 9:35 am
Reblogged this on Lori Greer in Portland and commented:
Beautifully written post on WWI
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November 11, 2019 at 9:33 am
So sad 💜🌈
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