Remembrance Day

[eznutz]

These are the reasons why Canadians were (are) respected in battle (11 Photos)
http://thechive.com/2015/11/10/thes...canadians-were-respected-in-battle-11-photos/

 

[Ridgeman08]

What a terrible, useless waste.

Have some respect dickwad!

What you call "a waste", those men gave freely of themselves so that you, generations later, can enjoy the privilege of freedom.

We have no idea what-so-ever what those men had to endure, but endure they did, of their own free will, I might add... (Canadian enrollment in the military is and always has been voluntary), so I invite you to retract your thoughtless remark.

You make me sick!

 

[red]

Have some respect dickwad!

What you call "a waste", those men gave freely of themselves so that you, generations later, can enjoy the privilege of freedom.

We have no idea what-so-ever what those men had to endure, but endure they did, of their own free will, I might add... (Canadian enrollment in the military is and always has been voluntary), so I invite you to retract your thoughtless remark.

You make me sick!

Except for conscription in 1917 - yes all voluntary.

However, the loss of life in WW1 was a waste. The marching into machine guns, the endless stalemate, fighting a war because some heir was assasinated? Yes a waste of very brave souls. Its a shame.

It doesn't take anything away from those fought to question whether it was worth it

 

[SkyRider]

WW II German POW's in Northern Ontario.

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/08/3...mps-that-dotted-northern-ontario-70-years-ago

“I was homesick to Canada and to the lake,” German sailor and Oak Bay prisoner Hans Kaiser said of his 1953 return to Kenora, where he met two comrades who had already immigrated to the area. The carpenter worked in the local mill until his retirement.

 

[SkyRider]

Here is why I will always defend a Sikh's right to wear the turban anytime anywhere.

http://rarehistoricalphotos.com/japanese-troops-using-prisoners-target-practice-1942/
"The vast majority of Indian soldiers captured when Singapore fell belonged to Sikh community."

https://sikhchic.com/columnists/unsung_heroes_wwii_prisoners_of_war
"History books tell us that halfway through WWII, in February 1942, Singapore fell and the Japanese took many imperial soldiers as prisoners. Among them, it is estimated that 40,000 were of Indian origin, and a huge proportion of them, Sikh and Punjabi."

 

[jcpro]

Have some respect dickwad!

What you call "a waste", those men gave freely of themselves so that you, generations later, can enjoy the privilege of freedom.

We have no idea what-so-ever what those men had to endure, but endure they did, of their own free will, I might add... (Canadian enrollment in the military is and always has been voluntary), so I invite you to retract your thoughtless remark.

You make me sick!

War is a waste. A waste of men and resources. Especially WWI which was a war about nothing. I don't question soldiers' sacrifice nor motives.

 

[Aardvark154]

However, the loss of life in WW1 was a waste. The marching into machine guns, the endless stalemate, fighting a war because some heir was assasinated (sic)? Yes a waste of very brave souls. Its a shame.

The Assassination was a precipitating factor not a cause.

With some notable exceptions by the end of 1915 there wasn't much deliberate marching into machine guns.

It was the Canadian Corps which in the Summer of 1918 really mastered Combined Arms Operations which made possible the famous "Canada's Hundred Days" ending the war.

 

[Aardvark154]

War is a waste. A waste of men and resources. Especially WWI which was a war about nothing. I don't question soldiers' sacrifice nor motives.

It really wasn't a war about nothing this was discussed at some length during the summer of 2014.

 

[Aardvark154]

Here is why I will always defend a Sikh's right to wear the turban anytime anywhere.

http://rarehistoricalphotos.com/japanese-troops-using-prisoners-target-practice-1942/
"The vast majority of Indian soldiers captured when Singapore fell belonged to Sikh community."

https://sikhchic.com/columnists/unsung_heroes_wwii_prisoners_of_war
"History books tell us that halfway through WWII, in February 1942, Singapore fell and the Japanese took many imperial soldiers as prisoners. Among them, it is estimated that 40,000 were of Indian origin, and a huge proportion of them, Sikh and Punjabi."

A lot of Japanese really should have been tried and executed as war criminals.


Then a bit off topic you have this http://www.philly.com/philly/news/2...rk_rescues_doctor_from_alleged_kidnapper.html Because he knew it was the right thing to do.

 

[buttercup]

Have some respect dickwad!
What you call "a waste", those men gave freely of themselves so that you, generations later, can enjoy the privilege of freedom.
We have no idea what-so-ever what those men had to endure, but endure they did, of their own free will, I might add... (Canadian enrollment in the military is and always has been voluntary), so I invite you to retract your thoughtless remark.
You make me sick!

We honour those who made the sacrifice, and we ascribe our freedoms, now, to their sacrifices.
The implication of the honour with which we, as a nation, regard our own dead soldiers, is that we, as a nation, despise (former) enemy soldiers. We are officially pleased our boys killed them. We say things like 'they started it' -- 'they brought it upon themselves' -- 'it's their own fault for taking up arms against us'.

The soldiers on the German side, in WWI, went through just the same horrors. Plus they had to suffer the extra trauma and ignominy of losing. No-one honours dead German soldiers. No-one thanks them for their sacrifice.
But they are just as dead. Presumably, German mothers mourned the loss of their beautiful sons, just as much as our mothers.

I believe a better 'national attitude' would be that no international problem is worth the life of even one young man. Especially not one of our own -- but only slightly especially.
As a nation, we should strive towards recognizing that the only political principle worth dying for, is the principle that no cause is worth killing for.

We can only claim to be honouring the true glory of our own dead soldiers, when our families can join together, and cry together, with the families of our dead enemies, over what we have all lost.

Until then, yes, we have wasted their sacrifice.

 

[SkyRider]

It was the Canadian Corps which in the Summer of 1918 really mastered Combined Arms Operations which made possible the famous "Canada's Hundred Days" ending the war.

America's entry into the war in 1917 also helped speed the end.

 

[SkyRider]

As a nation, we should strive towards recognizing that the only political principle worth dying for, is the principle that no cause is worth killing for.

One of the most useless wars was the American Civil War. 700,000 dead Americans and for what? Meanwhile, the president who started that war is hailed as a hero. We are still living with the consequences to-day.

 

[Aardvark154]

America's entry into the war in 1917 also helped speed the end.

True, but there was a VERY STEEP learning curve. A number of U.S. operations in 1918 might as well have been in the Spring of 1915 for all that seemingly was paid attention to the lessons that had been learned in blood over the intervening three plus years.

 

[Aardvark154]

One of the most useless wars was the American Civil War. 700,000 dead Americans and for what? Meanwhile, the president who started that war is hailed as a hero. We are still living with the consequences to-day.

Utterly disagree.

Do you think that anyone seriously believes that a state can just seceded from the Union, or that chattel slavery is legal?

 

[Aardvark154]

. . . .The soldiers on the German side, in WWI, went through just the same horrors. Plus they had to suffer the extra trauma and ignominy of losing. No-one honours dead German soldiers. No-one thanks them for their sacrifice. But they are just as dead. Presumably, German mothers mourned the loss of their beautiful sons, just as much as our mothers. . . .

Although the French did not do so with great forethought, for me one of the most moving of things is that the German Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V. Belleau War Cemetery is but five hundred meters down the road from the American Battle Monuments Commission's Aisne-Marne Cemetery.

Although General William T. Sherman was absolutely correct when he famously said "War is all Hell" at the same time it is untrue that "no cause is worth killing (or dying) for".

 

[basketcase]

Have some respect dickwad!

What you call "a waste",...

It was a waste. WWI was a completely needless war. No side was an evil power that needed to be stopped but rather it was a ridiculous chain of events.

That doesn't take a thing away from the b**********y and sacrifice of the soldiers who fought - on either side - but rather a commentary about how futile and needless their sacrifice was. The 3 cousins could have resolved the whole thing over a family dinner instead of requiring 20 million dead.

 

[buttercup]

. . General William T. Sherman was absolutely correct when he famously said "War is all Hell" . .

"It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell."
William Tecumseh Sherman

. . at the same time it is untrue that "no cause is worth killing (or dying) for".

The only cause a civilized nation should consider worth the life of even one of our young men, is to protect ourselves against those who believe they have a cause worth killing people for.

You, Mr.A, are a civilized man, who always makes a point of backing up your points with examples. Give an example of a cause you would kill for, or that you think is worth the life of even one young man. (Your example cannot be basically the same as the principle I have stated, but in different words.)

 

[ZenSouljah]

Germany does honour their war dead as pretty much most nations do. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkstrauertag Having served in the Canadian military, I can tell you that war is hell and that we should always remember the sacrifices of those who passed on fighting for Canada, those who came home injured and also remember those that still serve and put themselves in harms way.

We honour those who made the sacrifice, and we ascribe our freedoms, now, to their sacrifices.
The implication of the honour with which we, as a nation, regard our own dead soldiers, is that we, as a nation, despise (former) enemy soldiers. We are officially pleased our boys killed them. We say things like 'they started it' -- 'they brought it upon themselves' -- 'it's their own fault for taking up arms against us'.

The soldiers on the German side, in WWI, went through just the same horrors. Plus they had to suffer the extra trauma and ignominy of losing. No-one honours dead German soldiers. No-one thanks them for their sacrifice.
But they are just as dead. Presumably, German mothers mourned the loss of their beautiful sons, just as much as our mothers.

I believe a better 'national attitude' would be that no international problem is worth the life of even one young man. Especially not one of our own -- but only slightly especially.
As a nation, we should strive towards recognizing that the only political principle worth dying for, is the principle that no cause is worth killing for.

We can only claim to be honouring the true glory of our own dead soldiers, when our families can join together, and cry together, with the families of our dead enemies, over what we have all lost.

Until then, yes, we have wasted their sacrifice.

 

[K Douglas]

Here is why I will always defend a Sikh's right to wear the turban anytime anywhere.

http://rarehistoricalphotos.com/japanese-troops-using-prisoners-target-practice-1942/
"The vast majority of Indian soldiers captured when Singapore fell belonged to Sikh community."

https://sikhchic.com/columnists/unsung_heroes_wwii_prisoners_of_war
"History books tell us that halfway through WWII, in February 1942, Singapore fell and the Japanese took many imperial soldiers as prisoners. Among them, it is estimated that 40,000 were of Indian origin, and a huge proportion of them, Sikh and Punjabi."

Couldn't agree with you more. They were warriors.

 

[wilbur]

Couldn't agree with you more. They were warriors.

Sikhs are part of British Army legacy. In fact, the Duke of Wellington couldn't have conquered all of India without support from the Sikhs. Sikh Turbans are a legacy of the British Army. Sikhs fought for the British Empire in great numbers in Europe in WW1, along with other campaigns like in Mesopotamia, and during WW2. There were even turbaned Sikh fighter pilots in the Royal Flying Corps and RAF in Europe.

At the Sandhurst Military academy (where they train British army officers), there is a wing dedicated to the Indian Army under British rule, and Sikh/Punjabi soldiers figure prominently in pictures, mementos and relics.

Since Canadian uniforms and military traditions have strong links to British military traditions, the wearing of turbans is really part of the British legacy we have in Canada.

In the Indian Army General staff, Sikh Generals are limited 10% of the total. I was told that, if that limit wasn't there, all Indian Army Generals would be Sikhs.