Lest we Forget

[chrisinth]

I felt compelled to give this subject a mention. Even though the images below is directed for the fallen from the UK, this mention goes to the families and friends of all service personnel and members of the police, fire and ambulances services in all countries that have given their lives in defence of others as is their duty. This goes beyond WW1 & WW2.

 

for all serving or retired service persons reading this, I hope you have adopted the same thought line as myself and remember the fallen comrades as they were, and not how they departed. But never forget why they departed in such a way.

 

 

 

Edited November 11, 2018 by chrisinth

[Cadbury]

While we are in the mood for remembrance let's not forget that Thailand declared war on the US and the UK on the 25 January 1942. 

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/thailand-declares-war-on-the-united-states-and-england

[roo860]

While we are in the mood for remembrance let's not forget that Thailand declared war on the US and the UK on the 25 January 1942. 
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/thailand-declares-war-on-the-united-states-and-england

Seems like they still are.

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[StreetCowboy]

On Sunday we cycled to the National Monument (Tugu Negara) in KL

[Kwasaki]

14 hours ago, Cadbury said:

While we are in the mood for remembrance let's not forget that Thailand declared war on the US and the UK on the 25 January 1942. 

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/thailand-declares-war-on-the-united-states-and-england

Also what USA with Churchill asking them to help, what about Italy, what about Finland, Bulgaria, and Romania, what about French taking land from Thailand.

 

In ww2 the Thai government had split into two factions, the Phibun regime and a well-organised,  that eventually numbered around 90,000 Thai guerrillas, supported by government officials allied to the regent Pridi Banomyong. The movement was active from 1942, resisting the Phibun regime and the Japanese. The partisans provided espionage services to the Allies, performed some sabotage activities, and helped engineer Phibun's downfall in 1944. After the war, Thailand received little punishment for its wartime role under Phibun.

Thailand suffered about 5,569 military dead during the war, almost entirely due to disease under Japanese occupation.

 

I'm saying lets have the whole jigsaw and not just a piece.

[StreetCowboy]

17 hours ago, Cadbury said:

While we are in the mood for remembrance let's not forget that Thailand declared war on the US and the UK on the 25 January 1942. 

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/thailand-declares-war-on-the-united-states-and-england

Remembrance is not the same as bearing a grudge or raking over old coals

[Cadbury]

1 hour ago, StreetCowboy said:

Remembrance is not the same as bearing a grudge or raking over old coals

You are free to show servility if you choose and hide such facts under the carpet. 

Some of us might like to observe remembrance of the thousands of Australians who died during the construction of the Burma-Thailand railway. Is that "raking over coals" as you put it?

The fact that many of those deaths at the hands of the Japanese took place in Thailand doesn't mean we should desist from showing respect just to avoid upsetting anyone. I doubt the people of Thailand would expect that anyway. 

"Lest we Forget". 

[Nyezhov]

I visited Fort Douaumont in Verdun a few years back. The thing that struck me was a sign inside that said something like "Please be silent. We are the Dead, We are Sleeping Here".

 

There was a German helmet lodged in a ventilation shaft with the crown down so all you could see was the crown. Was there a head in there too?

 

The Ossuary at Verdun contains tens of thousands of bones....skulls piled up in one room, femurs in another, arms and ribs......

 

You go to the destroyed Towns of Fleury and Douaumont and just see the ground pocked with so many craters it is good for nothing. Just dead.  There are little puddles everywhere, they fill the shell holes still. here and there you see pieces of barbed wire. There are little markers that run along where there used to be a street that say "Bakery", "butcher Shop", "mayors House". Some areas you can't even go to, they are still dangerous...poisoned by shell and gas and bodies. They call it the Zone Rouge, the Red Zone.

 

At the top of the Mort Homme, Dead Mans Hill, there is a Memorial of a winged skeleton with the words Ils nont Pas Passe. They did not pass. Thousands died on this HIll. The road up is narrow and I was the only one up there, its spooky as all hell, tens of thousands died on that hill and you can still see how the ground is torn up from the path they warn you not to leave. You wonder though, is there someones father, son or brother under your feet? And as you go down the hill, you see the cows grazing in a quiet pasture.

 

I spent some time at the American Cemetary at Meuse-Argonne, where most of the Yanks killed in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive are buried. Its very peaceful.

 

I've been to Ypres and Paschendaele. In the morning, in the mist, you just envision what went on there. The Menin gate and the Memorial at Beaufort Hamel are awe inspiring, to think of the sacrifice. It rained, and even on the pavement you could envision the mud and filth that these guys fought in. Every night, they play the Last Post at the Menin Gate where the names of thousands of missing dead are engraved. Missing. Blown up and ground up and sunk in the mud and churned up again. They are still finding bodies.

 

I had a lot of pictures of these places that all got lost in a fire (my puter was burned). So I found the attachment on the web, I spent a lot of time looking at this statue at Verdun, its called the Angel of Verdun by Rodin.

 

My Grandfather, was in the AEF in France in WW1.  One of my Uncles took one in the leg from an MG42 at the Kasserine Pass in WW2, he was crippled for life. My other Uncle was Assistant Provost Marshall of Bavaria until 1947. I have great Uncles and cousins buried in nameless graves in the Ukraine.

 

So, I never forget. War sucks. It may be necessary, but it sucks.

 

 

 

 

[chickenslegs]

Anyone interested can use this site to research their relatives.

 

Also, on this website you can find thousands of people who have perished in wars but have not been "remembered" and you can thank them for their service.

https://www.everyoneremembered.org/

 

Make a donation to the British Legion if you wish - there is no obligation whatsoever.

[roo860]

Over the past 5 years I've visited Ypres, the Somme, Passchandale, Arnhem and last month the Normandy Beaches.
Each place was an amazing experience, one of the guys in our group, his great grandfather is buried at Ypres.
The photo is the W11 Cemetary in Caen.
.

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[roo860]

This is Pegasus bridge location, the cafe is next to the bridge, cafe still owned by the same family. The current owner was 4yrs old when the British Airborne landed by glider in 1944. The first glider landed 50yds from the bridge, Major John Howard led the assault. This incredible feat took place in the dark, amazing navigation, Germans totally took by suprise.
The table in the kitchen of the now cafe is the same one that was used by medics in 1944!
We had an amazing conversation with the lady owner, about her experience that night!!!

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[roo860]

https://www.forces.net/stories/story-behind-ray-d-day-veteran-heartwarming-remembrance-video

 

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Check this guys story!!!!!!

[emoji106] [emoji106] [emoji106]