Armistice Day

[casfic]

My grandfather was born in 1898,, or thereabouts. He went to Flanders in 1917 I think, straight out of school. He was a second lieutenant, a rank with an average life expectancy of 6 weeks He was exceptionally good at maths, so he was put in the artilliary, and it was his job to calculate the angle the big guns had to be set at to hit their targets

Comments

[casfic]

We did a whole lot of first world war poetry in English when I was about fourteen. I think it was the first time we had really looked at what war does to people. This poem had a strong effect on me then, it still does. I hate it when people get all jingoistic about war and glory and crap like that. It's a filthy, horrible business that destroys people and not just by killing them.

[katiemorris]

I love this too, thank you for posting it. Nice to see a mention of Armistice Day on my LJ flist. I adored Wilfred Owen - Naming of parts was one of my favourites too. I think he was a better poet than Sassoon, but this one by Sassoon is another of my favourites. So short and SO succinct:

GOOD-MORNING; good-morning!’ the General said
When we met him last week on our way to the line.
Now the soldiers he smiled at are most of ’em dead,
And we’re cursing his staff for incompetent swine.
He’s a cheery old card,’ grunted Harry to Jack
As they slogged up to Arras with rifle and pack.
    .    .    .    .
But he did for them both by his plan of attack.

[loupnoir]

I know this won't surprise you one bit, but here, in the US, we barely read about WWI. It happened, but let's skip forward to WWII where we won the entire war all by ourselves. Yeah. I know.

The monuments throughout England, Scotland Wales, France and Belgium are amazing. We stopped at tiny villages and looked at the names that crowded around the statues. Some of the smallest places fielded so many young men, who gave their lives some place far from home. War is far more personal there than here. Here, the only wars we've seen are drug wars, usually between different dealing factions and we sneer and say that the vermin are taking each other out. Real war hasn't touched the States since the Civil War, so you can imagine how distant it seems.

I just got back from grocery shopping. With the exception of the lack of mail, you couldn't tell that today was any different from any other.

Thanks for reminding me, and hopefully others as well, of those who died to defend us and those who came home, never unscathed.

[casfic]

What has always horrified me most about WW1 was that it was so unnecessary. It should never have started, and when it did it should never have lasted as long as it did. It was a war run by generals who all thought they were bloody Napoleon, and who didn't realise it was the 20th century with 20th century weapons, and all that implied. Now WW2 was different.

[rhonan]

It is Veteran's Day in this country, so I know that the Stars and Stripes will be flying over my Father's Navy issue tombstone today.