Lloyd Brown was 16 years old when he signed up...

[STING2]

..........to fight in World War I. He's now 103 and one of an estimated 30 U.S. veterans of World War I still alive. He was apart of the Memorial Day Parade in Washington DC

God Bless all US military personal who have given their lives in defense of the United States and other countries around the world!

 

[all_i_want]

well, the allies were kind of fighting against us in that war and in the aftermath, and it was a war over colonial interests, so it doesnt really have the same emotional punch WW2 has.. you know, fighting for the free world thing.

god bless all the soldiers who lost their lives last century. they were all someone's son and they had the courage to fight the wars for old men who started them.

i had an epiphany the other day. there will always be wars. our nature is simply not good enough to avoid them. old men will watch, as the young men die.

there is something the founder of my country, ataturk, said about the british and the australians who came to fight to our soil in the first great war, i really sympathize with it.

'Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives... You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side now here in this country of ours... you, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land, they have become our sons as well.'

 

[VertigoGal]

'Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives... You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side now here in this country of ours... you, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land, they have become our sons as well.'

wow, that brought tears to my eyes, thats beautiful.

thank you to all the soldiers who've died defending this country. and as you said, all the young men and women who've died in war, whether or not it was truly considered a "good fight." they didn't start the war, and they had families too.

this reminds me of a special i watched on tv about american and german soldiers singing songs together and tossing cigarettes to each other while in the trenches at night. knowing the next morning they would be expected to kill these people without a second thought. its so sad.

 

[STING2]

well, the allies were kind of fighting against us in that war and in the aftermath, and it was a war over colonial interests, so it doesnt really have the same emotional punch WW2 has.. you know, fighting for the free world thing.

god bless all the soldiers who lost their lives last century. they were all someone's son and they had the courage to fight the wars for old men who started them.

i had an epiphany the other day. there will always be wars. our nature is simply not good enough to avoid them. old men will watch, as the young men die.

there is something the founder of my country, ataturk, said about the british and the australians who came to fight to our soil in the first great war, i really sympathize with it.

'Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives... You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side now here in this country of ours... you, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land, they have become our sons as well.'

I should have been a little more clear in my first post, but I really meant this thread to be in honor of the US military personal who have died in defending the United States for the past 200 years. Today is Memorial Day, a national holiday in the United States when the country honors military personal that have died defending the country.

Despite the fact I strongly disagree with your political views in your above statement, I'm not going to respond to them in this thread as I'd like this thread to be focused on honoring the troops on this Memorial Day.

 

[financeguy]

God Bless all Allied troops that died defending Europe from the Nazi menace.


P.S. All I Want is right, WWI was a colonial imperialist war.

 

[financeguy]

When I think of World War I, I think of the war poets like Siegfreid Sassoon, Rupert Graves, etc.

This is one of my favourite World War I poems:-

In Flanders Fields:

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

By John McCrae 1915

 

[verte76]

When I think of World War I, I think of the war poets like Siegfreid Sassoon, Rupert Graves, etc.

When I was in college, I wrote a paper about Wilfrid Owen, the Welsh poet. It was a tear-jerker, writing that paper just about killed me.

 

[verte76]

..........to fight in World War I. He's now 103 and one of an estimated 30 U.S. veterans of World War I still alive. He was apart of the Memorial Day Parade in Washington DC

God Bless all US military personal who have given their lives in defense of the United States and other countries around the world!

Sting, that article was in our morning paper. Wonderful piece, wonderful man.

 

[Rono]

I should have been a little more clear in my first post, but I really meant this thread to be in honor of the US military personal who have died in defending the United States for the past 200 years. Today is Memorial Day, a national holiday in the United States when the country honors military personal that have died defending the country.

Including the mass murderers from the indian wars ?

 

[STING2]

Including the mass murderers from the indian wars ?

This thread was meant as a memorial day thread to honor US troops who have died defending the United States. Please take your political views and discuss them in another thread.

 

[hiphop]

Uh yeah. Another exclusive thread for nationalists to tout their horn. Great.

 

[LadyRhia]

..........to fight in World War I. He's now 103 and one of an estimated 30 U.S. veterans of World War I still alive. He was apart of the Memorial Day Parade in Washington DC

God Bless all US military personal who have given their lives in defense of the United States and other countries around the world!

I read Mr.Brown's story last night in the newspaper.I thought that it was cute that he sometimes rides his golfcart to the shopping center..and the cops dont like it much

I know WW1 was so long ago,but hard to believe that there are only about 30 men surviving..A bit sad because once they are gone,there wont be anyone left to share with us.


Bless all the soldiers,(past and present) and their loved ones.I hope our men and women fighting today come home sooner that later.

Rhia

 

[nbcrusader]

We should all spend time with a veteren. We can learn alot about courage, determination and self-sacrifice.

 

[hiphop]

We should all spend time with a veteren. We can learn alot about courage, determination and self-sacrifice.

Yeah, and about Vietnam.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

We should all spend time with a veteren. We can learn alot about courage, determination and self-sacrifice.

Thanks nbc

Thanks and much respect to all veterans and to those currently serving

 

[BAW]

Yeah, and about Vietnam.

hiphop, come on now. Think what you will about the US and its military but there have been a lot of men and women who have served with honor over the years. Is it too much to ask that a simple Memorial Day thread proceed without controversy?

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Yes it is way too much to ask BAW

 

[financeguy]

hiphop, come on now. Think what you will about the US and its military but there have been a lot of men and women who have served with honor over the years. Is it too much to ask that a simple Memorial Day thread proceed without controversy?

I would question why a Memorial Day thread SPECIFICALLY for US troops is seen as desirable. Of course, individuals are perfectly entitled to start such threads if they wish but I personally think that it would have been better to have devoted such a thread to all armed forces.

Or if the thread was intended to be about WWI specifically, could it not be dedicated to ALL troops who died in that war and not just the US troops, given that the US casualties were only 10 highest on the list?

And, as Hiphop already pointed out, this is supposed to be a discussion/debating forum.

 

[XHendrix24]

It's so sad that even things like honoring war veterans attract flaming here.

Anyway, even though I'm a day late, bless all of the soldiers, living or not. Their sacrifices should be looked upon with great respect.

 

[hiphop]

hiphop, come on now. Think what you will about the US and its military but there have been a lot of men and women who have served with honor over the years. Is it too much to ask that a simple Memorial Day thread proceed without controversy?

Mrs BAW: Controversy is not my intention.

It´s a fact that from a veteran you can learn. As nbcrusader pointed out, there are Veterans who will tell you about courage, determination and self-sacrifice. There are Veterans who will tell you how great a soldier´s life is, and who will be admired by children because they served in a war.

Also, there are Veterans who will tell you dark, cruel stuff about when they were in Vietnam. There are Veterans who will tell you horrible stories about Iraq, too. Well, only if you are interested in hearing their story.

Does that 103 y.o. men tell you of mustard gas? Of his buddies hanging themselves because they could not bear the creulties around them anymore? Does he tell of the wounded? What about their honor? Aren´t they the most honorable of all? And do you know that most of them would spit in our faces if we tell them about honor?

If any memorial day in any country misses to acknowledge those cruelties, I say, what is it a Memorial day for? Just to remember we are all so happy and proud of our nation?

I don´t see where the controversy is. But I understand the motive: you want this thread to stay a clean and nice and perfect Memorial thread, so we can all hail our wonderful God-blessed troops and honored armies, hooray! and God forbid anyone says anything negative about fighting or soldiers or war or your fucking American nationalism that really makes me vomit.

Dead soldiers don´t speak, you know.

And Mister Hendrix there should be reminded that Jimi Hendrix served in Vietnam. From what I heard, it wasn´t his hobby, and he did not think of it as an honorable thing to do.

 

[BAW]

But I understand the motive: you want this thread to stay a clean and nice and perfect Memorial thread, so we can all hail our wonderful God-blessed troops and honored armies, hooray! and God forbid anyone says anything negative about fighting or soldiers or war or your fucking American nationalism that really makes me vomit.

Excuse me? Me and my fucking American nationalism? Are you refering to me specifically or Americans in general? And why would you presume to know what my motives are?

Wow. I guess I was under the mistaken impression that we were friends and we could respectfully disagree with each other without resorting to insults.

 

[pax]

Yeah, me too.

For heaven's sake.

We all know that war is hellish and that innocent people suffer because of it. But we all also know that veterans do deserve our respect.

I understand that subjects should be open for debate, and maybe I would have an easier time with letting even "memorial" threads be open for debate if the debate could be a little more peaceful and respectful.

 

[hiphop]

Excuse me? Me and my fucking American nationalism? Are you refering to me specifically or Americans in general? And why would you presume to know what my motives are?

Wow. I guess I was under the mistaken impression that we were friends and we could respectfully disagree with each other without resorting to insults.

Nope I am not referring to you as a person, I am referring to a specific mindset that dominates this thread and obviously the view of many Americans.

Sure we are friends and can respectfully disagree. Also about American nationalism, if you desire so. If you had the feeling that my personal respect towards you was missing, sorry for that.

I like to make myself clear, and you know me Now do me a favor and see if you can find this book. I know you like to read, and it´s well worth it. k?

edit: ehm didn´t I mention the book? I wrote another sentence in one of the edits.. its Norman Mailer´s "The Naked and the Dead". Highly recommended.

 

[pax]

"Fucking American nationalism that really makes me vomit" might have tipped her off.

Just saying.

 

[Rono]

This thread was meant as a memorial day thread to honor US troops who have died defending the United States. Please take your political views and discuss them in another thread.

Maybe you should take your memorial threath too a i love war forum instead of a genaral international forum.

 

[pax]

Maybe you should take your memorial threath too a i love war forum instead of a genaral international forum.

I was going to give this thread a chance to return to civilized debate, but I don't see it happening.

EDITED TO SAY: I think that it *could* have been possible to honor all troops in this thread, not just American ones (even though it is, as BAW pointed out, an American holiday), and perhaps *even* to honor those troops, who fought after all for the right to free speech (among other things), with civilized debate on the nature of wars and what they do to the men and women who serve in them. Lest it be said that I singled out the non-American dissenters in my criticism of this thread, I think perhaps EVERYONE in this thread could have been more respectful of the opposing viewpoints.

Thank you, please drive through.