The Eleventh Hour

[allenlennon]

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them

Least We Forget
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Today is Remembrance Day in Australia, where on the 11th month, of the 11th day, at the 11th hour, we fall silent for a minuet to celebrate those who have served, and those who do serve, our wonderful country. And the following photo is a small, tiny offering to show my admiration to those who have, and still do serve Australia and its allies.

[John 2]

Nicely done. It's the same here of course and all the more poignant this year on the centenary of the outbreak of the 1914 - 1918 War. However, given the way the world is today, the question that keeps coming to mind is "Do we ever learn?"

[dje]

And the following photo is a small, tiny offering to show my admiration to those who have, and still do serve Australia and its allies.

Hear hear, and a lovely touch in this photo Allen.

Dave

[Shadowman]

Veterans Day here as well.

11th Hour image, nicely captured.

[IzzieK]

A prayer, a bunch of flowers and even just remembering them who fought for our land for our freedom is appropriate for the day. Very nice touching sentiment, Allan...

[chauncey]

Do we ever learn?

In the beginning...man slayed man to preserve his seed...then came clan vs. clan and tribe vs. tribe.
It is ingrained in our being to kill what is different or, for what we may want or want to protect.

No, we will never learn.

[rpcrowe]

This is something that angers me every time I read about it or think about it.

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk...er_11_1918.htm

In particular, the Americans took heavy casualties on the last day of the war. This was because their commander, General John Pershing, believed that the Germans had to be severely defeated at a military level to effectively ‘teach them a lesson’. Pershing saw the terms of the Armistice as being soft on the Germans. Therefore, he supported those commanders who wanted to be pro-active in attacking German positions – even though he knew that an Armistice had been signed. In particular, the Americans suffered heavy casualties attempting to cross the River Meuse on the night of the 10th/11th with the US Marines taking over 1,100 casualties alone. However, if they had waited until 11.00, they could have crossed the river unhindered and with no casualties. The 89th US Division was ordered to attack and take the town of Stenay on the morning of November 11th. Stenay was the last town captured on the Western Front but at a cost of 300 casualties.

OVER 1,400 CASUALTIES SUFFERED FOR ABSOLUTELY NO VALID REASON!

[John 2]

Richard, the history of the First World War is riddled with such follies if indeed "follies" is a strong enough word. And it was not only men. I watched a documentary the other evening that suggested that Churchill's efforts to develop the Tank were in part driven by the fact that so many horses were killed that we ran out of them even after importing thousands of animals from the U.S. Dogs were also trained to act as messengers between the trenches. When you recognise that the map of Europe hardly changed as a result, you have to ask what it was all for.