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G4EBT > VETS 26.11.09 10:01l 133 Lines 5279 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 501641G4EBT
Read: GUEST
Subj: Re: Soon they'll be gone:-(
Path: DB0FHN<DB0FOR<DB0SIF<DB0MRW<DK0WUE<DB0RES<IK2XDE<ON4HU<ON0BEL<GB7FCR
Sent: 091126/0054Z @:GB7FCR.#16.GBR.EU #:34676 [Blackpool] FBB-7.03a $:501641G4
From: G4EBT@GB7FCR.#16.GBR.EU
To : VETS@WW
Peter, VE3WBZ wrote:-
> Usually every November 11th., I post a POPPY @WW with the
> title that befits where I am which is Remembrance Day in CANADA.
I try to be somewhere significant at 11am on 11/11.
This year, it was Trafalgar Square in London.
> This year, with a really bad cough, and side effects that had me
> bedridden most of the day, I was really unable to complete the
> posting to be posted ....
> With the Old Uniforms being put away for another year, also
> comes the realization that across CANADA it is predicted
> 26,000 vets will reduce our ranks in Remembrance Day 2010.
The term "vet" can be a bit misleading.
It infers not simply ex-service personnel, but those who've fought
in combat zones, such as WW2, (D-Day etc), Korea, the Middle East,
the Falklands, Vietnam, or hacked their way through the jungle in
Malaya or Borneo etc.
True, many did, but many more didn't.
Hardly "vets" in the true sense of the word, albeit they were trained and
ready if needed to do their stint. In the UK, until the early 1960s, two
years conscription was compulsory, though very few saw active service in
war zones.
WW2 vets are quite old now - someone aged only 21 on D-Day in 1944 would
be 86 now, so it's true that their numbers are much diminished, as is
their ability to take part in parades.
Since the end of WW2 there's only been one year (1968) in which no member
of the British armed forces was killed. In 1971, more soldiers were killed
on the streets of Britain (NI etc) than the first three years of the Iraq
war.
The Falklands War started on 2 April 1982 with the Argentine invasion and
occupation of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia, and ended with the
Argentine surrender on 14 June 1982.
That war lasted just 74 days.
It claimed the deaths of 255 British and 649 Argentine soldiers, sailors,
and airmen, and three civilian Falklanders. It was the last conflict
carried by the UK without any allied states.
I've been off packet since 3 Nov down in London visiting our elder son,
his wife and our three granddaughters, initially till 17th, during which
time we attended ceremony in Trafalgar Square on 11/11.
But our plans changed.
On Thurs 12th we all unexpectedly had to rush off to Paris on Eurostar for
several days as our daughter in law's father (aged 90 and in poor health)
had passed away, and we needed to attend his funeral.
I don't go to the London Cenotaph on 11/11 - it's tainted by politicians
who use it as a photo-opportunity, this year as much as ever. Both the
oppsition leader and Gordon Brown, unlected PM, have been forced to
apolgise for this exploitation.
My wife and I got to Trafalgar Square on 11/11 (where Nelson's Column is
situated) at 10.00am, by which time thousands had gathered. Though few are
behind the ill-conceived wars of recent years, most are solidly behind the
forces, who've been poorly equipped and supported. The last straw was when
the TA weren't even allowed to fire blanks in training due to
penny-pinching.
Only in Britain, surely, could soldiers be not allowed to even fire
blanks.
It evokes childhood war games - "bang bang - you're dead".
There's been poor support from the Gov't or MoD for stress counselling and
re-adapting to civilian life, particularly for those who've been seriously
wounded or lost limbs. (An RAF typist got more compensation for repetitive
strain injury than soldiers who've lost limbs).
In the run up to the 2-mins silence at 11am in Trafalgar Square, notable
people gave readings, including the actor, writer and TV personality,
Stephen Fry, and Major Phil Packer.
Major Packer is an army officer of the Roayal Mlilitary Police, aged 36,
gravely injured in Iraq, who finished the London Marathon after taking 13
gruelling days to complete the 26 mile course in May this year, raising
£762,000 GBP towards his target of one million pounds towards the "Help
For Heroes" charity.
Major Packer was told he'd never walk again after the attack in Basra,
Iraq, where he suffered a bruised heart, damage to his ribs and chest
and the loss of the motor and sensory use of his legs.
He began the marathon with 35,000 others on 26 April. He finished on
9 May where rower Sir Steve Redgrave presented him with his medal. An
inspiration.
You can see him at this link:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/paralympicsport/5304281/Major-
Phil-Packer-completes-London-Marathon.html
Though Stephen Fry can be hilarious, he has serious and thoughtful side,
concerned about the plight of service personnel suffering from PTSD and
difficulties in coping with stresses in combat zones and adapting to life
back home.
Clearly intent on ensuring that the remembrance ceremony was just that -
a commemoration to reflect upon the sacrifices - not a celebration. The
poem he chose to recite was a sombre one by Siegfried Sassoon from 1918 -
Suicide in the Trenches.
As relevant today as it was back then, given the mounting number
of suicides of service personnel. I'll put it out in another bull.
Its not for the feint-hearted.
Best wishes
David, G4EBT @ GB7FCR
Cottingham, East Yorkshire.
Message timed: 19:02 on 2009-Nov-25
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