SNOW****** SNOW ****and Remembrance

maglets
maglets Member Posts: 2,576 Member
edited November 2011 in Colorectal Cancer #1
YOU MUST FORGIVE ME..for any number of reasons.....hahah

our first snow and for Candians this is a big deal...you hate it you curse it but the first falls of the season are so lovely.

Today is our Remembrance Day..in my small city we will remember largely WWI and WWII vets with some young guys from Afganistan. We all gather at the tiny cenotaph and the weather marks the year. Sometimes rain, usually cold and today snow.

There is an old army base near by and during the second WW two captured Austrian pilots were held there and died there. A friend of mine goes out each Remembrance day and places flowers on their graves.

I had three Canadian uncles who fought in the war in the Italian campaign....all 3 returned...2 to normal life and one who was shell shocked died a hopeless alcoholic

peace and love to all

mags

Comments

  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    Lovely Post Mags
    It's Veteran's Day here in the USA. It's not about sales and bargains although that's what's taken over (surprised?)
    The only bargain we've gotten is that many of us did not have to fight for our freedom. Others fought for us, let us not forget them

    -p
  • Lovekitties
    Lovekitties Member Posts: 3,364 Member
    Thank you
    Regardless of whether it is Remembrance Day or Vetran's Day wherever you live, it is a day to say "Thank You for my Freedon" to all those service men and women who have fought for us.

    My father served in the European theater as a young country lad just out of high school. Now he is one of a dwindling number of WWII vetrans still with us.

    Thank you Mags for the post.

    Peace and love to all (to quote a lovely lady)

    Marie who loves kitties
  • herdizziness
    herdizziness Member Posts: 3,624 Member
    Veterns Day
    My Uncle Ralph was a POW (captured in December 20,1943 when his plane was shot down by ememy fire, 3 were able to bail out alive of 10 on the plane )in Stalag XVIIB which is Stalag 17, they made a tv series using the German sergeant for a character called Stalag 13, and the sergeant's real name was really Shutlz, my Uncle had nothing to do with the series, but he would talk about Shutlz, after he was liberated by General Patton's army in June 1945. I have a poem he wrote in Krems, Austria (that's were his POW camp was, he wrote this in 1944, the end of it read: and when that judgement days arrives; we'll meet our comrades and we'll say; well boys, we took the longest way;But we all made it back." I think that shows they all thought they would die in the camp. All four brothers were in the Armed force, Harry Mantor fought in the South Pacific War theater in the US Marines, Ralph Mantor was in AF based out of England on B-17 Bomber plane when shot down in Germany, Chester Mantor fought in Italy in the Marines and my Grandfather was in the AF in the Aleutians (anyone remember their history when the Japanese had an encampment on an island in the Aleutians, then just before they were surrounded by the US armed forces they had left in a ship in the night on a fogged socked in week, taking all the Aleut natives with them?).
    Makes my service in the Air Force seem insignificant (I served in peace time, right as the very last of the troops were withdrawing from the Vietnam War).
    Just thought the above would make interesting reading, their are so few of them left. Uncle Ralph died two years ago I believe, and he was the last of the surviving brothers. I'm just glad he wrote down a lot of his memories. It's an added plus to have my uncles and grandfather's newspaper articles as well, I hope my son will keep them and pass them down to the next generation, so they might remember the sacrifices that were made during that war, so that they are not forgotten.
    Winter Marie
  • laurettas
    laurettas Member Posts: 372

    Veterns Day
    My Uncle Ralph was a POW (captured in December 20,1943 when his plane was shot down by ememy fire, 3 were able to bail out alive of 10 on the plane )in Stalag XVIIB which is Stalag 17, they made a tv series using the German sergeant for a character called Stalag 13, and the sergeant's real name was really Shutlz, my Uncle had nothing to do with the series, but he would talk about Shutlz, after he was liberated by General Patton's army in June 1945. I have a poem he wrote in Krems, Austria (that's were his POW camp was, he wrote this in 1944, the end of it read: and when that judgement days arrives; we'll meet our comrades and we'll say; well boys, we took the longest way;But we all made it back." I think that shows they all thought they would die in the camp. All four brothers were in the Armed force, Harry Mantor fought in the South Pacific War theater in the US Marines, Ralph Mantor was in AF based out of England on B-17 Bomber plane when shot down in Germany, Chester Mantor fought in Italy in the Marines and my Grandfather was in the AF in the Aleutians (anyone remember their history when the Japanese had an encampment on an island in the Aleutians, then just before they were surrounded by the US armed forces they had left in a ship in the night on a fogged socked in week, taking all the Aleut natives with them?).
    Makes my service in the Air Force seem insignificant (I served in peace time, right as the very last of the troops were withdrawing from the Vietnam War).
    Just thought the above would make interesting reading, their are so few of them left. Uncle Ralph died two years ago I believe, and he was the last of the surviving brothers. I'm just glad he wrote down a lot of his memories. It's an added plus to have my uncles and grandfather's newspaper articles as well, I hope my son will keep them and pass them down to the next generation, so they might remember the sacrifices that were made during that war, so that they are not forgotten.
    Winter Marie

    What wonderful stories, Winter Marie!
    I find the story about your uncle who was a POW particularly interesting since we have been watching old Hogan's Heroes programs in Jake's down time and we so enjoy Sgt. Schultz. Was he really like that in real life? How wonderful if he was! Thank you for sharing. It was very touching.
  • herdizziness
    herdizziness Member Posts: 3,624 Member
    laurettas said:

    What wonderful stories, Winter Marie!
    I find the story about your uncle who was a POW particularly interesting since we have been watching old Hogan's Heroes programs in Jake's down time and we so enjoy Sgt. Schultz. Was he really like that in real life? How wonderful if he was! Thank you for sharing. It was very touching.

    Shutlz
    He had his evil side and could get quite nasty and mean as well. But I did love Hogan's Heroes and my uncle watched it as well. The family had heard tales about Shultz and it was cool to see Hogans Heroes, but my uncle let us know it wasn't the comedy portrayed on TV. Shultz was a bumbling fool who would try and be friendly with the prisoners in order to find out what was going on, his only problem was, they all knew what he was doing and would sometimes make up little things to get him going. I think that was the premise of Stalag 13, but I'm not sure.
    Winter Marie