Here in France, we celebrate Nov. 11 (cease-fire which put an end to WWI) as
a Memorial Day for ALL soldiers of ALL wars of ALL citizenships. It's our
local flavor of Veterans' Day, if you like. That's a day of celebration.
It's a way to thank all these young men (and, in some cases, women) who gave
their life for their country. One has to remember that, at the time of WWI,
most armies drafted their soldiers. At least the French Army did use a draft
(finally abolished only in 1995). So these young soldiers gave their time,
jobs, and, in too many cases, their own lives, without explicitly choosing
to do so.

For me, Nov. 11th gets somehow personal. My own granddad fought WWI. He did
his military service in 1907-1908, and was recalled in 1914 at the onset of
WWI. He fought a few battles, ending at the Battle of the Somme (1915), when
he was wounded. He got home with 2 Military Medals with palms and the Legion
of Honor. these are very high military honors here in France. He lived until
old age, which allowed me to get first-hand accounts of the horrors of WWI,
a slaghter that, I hope, will never, never, never be repeated again. In his
old age, my granddad was the witness of the then-new German-French
friendship initiative, steered by Chancellor Adenauer and General de Gaulle.
Though he, at times, had the false impression of fighting -and almost dying-
for nothing, he warmly embraced the idea of preventing further slaughters
thru friendship.

Interestingly enough, my granddad was not some larger-than-life figure, and
he certainly never viewed himself as a hero. He was just one of the
countless multitude of humble people who tried their best to save their
skins, and were lucky enough to suceed.

More recently, an archaeological digging site in the Somme region, expected
to yield Gallic remains, instead yielded German WWI soldiers, in perfect
timing for a joint French-German common remembrance.

The North and East of my country are the last home of tens of thousands of
soldiers of WWI and WWII, of various citizenships. For me, young and lucky
enough never to have experienced a war on my country's soil, these military
cemeteries are a very powerful testimony to the folly of men that, I repeat,
should never be repeated again.

Christian

> -----Message d'origine-----
> De : HP-3000 Systems Discussion [mailto:[log in to unmask]]De la
> part de Barbara Burnett
> Envoye : mardi 11 novembre 2003 22:09
> A : [log in to unmask]
> Objet : Re: [HP3000-L] OT: Veterans' Day 2003
>
>
> Flanders still yields remains
>
> BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- Eighty-five years after the end of
> World War I,
> investigators are still finding remains of soldiers who
> perished in Flanders
> fields -- site of some of the war's most intense fighting.
>
> http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/11/11/flanders.remains.ap/
>
> Barbara
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: HP-3000 Systems Discussion [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
> Behalf Of Chuck Ciesinski
> Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2003 12:27 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [HP3000-L] OT: Veterans' Day 2003
>
> To All,
>
> Why did you post this?
>
> Lou Cook
>
> Why?  You ask why?  Just go down the road to Arlington,
> Virginia someday
> and visit
> the National Cemetary or any National Cemetary.  You'll find
> the crosses
> over the graves
> of the men and women who died to give you the right to ask your
> question.
> While there I
> suggest you visit the Tomb of the Unknowns.   Each of those men and
> women
> had families.
>
> Yes, Veteran's Day is an American holiday, so to our international
> brethern, please forgive
> us as we honor and remember them.
>
>
> Chuck Ciesinski,
> Hughes Network Systems
> 11717 Exploration Lane
> Germantown, MD  20876
> p  301 601 2608
> f   301 601 6303
> email  [log in to unmask]
> "Happy Trails to you, until we meet again..."  Roy Rogers
>
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