WIW...(and who I remembered) Remembrance Day 2019

Runcarla

It has been 100 years since the first November 11th Remembrance Day ceremony - held in 1919 after WWI. DH and I have made a habit of attending the ceremony at the local cenotaph of whatever community we happen to be in on that day. We both have family who lived through those awful times of WWI and WWII, and some who served their country.

#1 WIW

#2 my maternal grandfather, aged 39, who served as a medic in the US army and liberated prisoner of war and concentration camps in Germany.

#3 DH’s father, came of age at the start of the war, and trained and served as an RAF pilot and flew transport missions until the end of the war.

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4 years ago

General

13 replies

Latest reply was from rachylou

slim cat

Veteran

Thank you for posting your family photos. My late father served in the end of WWII - I don't have any photos of him during those difficult times ( my mom in Moscow probably has some ). His older brother served too. Russians used to celebrate victory over Nazi Germany on May 9 and mourn all who perished in that war on the same day.

4 years ago

Helena

Veteran

Beautiful photos - it's so hard to fathom these young boys walking into that horrific war.

You look fab Carla.

4 years ago

Cardiff girl

Veteran

It’s great that you remember and very important that we all do.Your outfit looks fab and very appropriate.

4 years ago

Preppy Pear

Veteran

Love the boots and crops combo.

Thanks for sharing your photos. Today I’m remembering both of my grandfathers - WWII and Korea, and my father - Vietnam. DH’s grandfather served in WWII as well.

4 years ago

Runcarla

Veteran

I had to think a lot about the idea of Remembrance Day, since my father (born 1935) was a kid living in the Saar, Germany at the time. His father worked in the coal mines, so was not pressed to be a soldier. None the less, his family lost loved ones and father suffered injuries and starvation.

4 years ago

nemosmom

Veteran

Thank you for sharing, and for remembering them. xx

4 years ago

Kathie

Veteran

Thanks for sharing- it's so important to remember what we learned from those wars. Your beret is perfect for today.

4 years ago

Style Fan

Veteran

Thank you for sharing. Mr. SF and I always try to go to a Remembrance Day ceremony. Unfortunately, we were not able to get to one today. My father was in the British Army in WW II. He was in DDay and helped liberate prisoners in concentration camps. I can only imagine what awful things he experienced. He rarely if ever talked about the war and did not encourage any of us to join the armed forces. He was against any war unless it was absolutely necessary.
My father's brother was killed in WW II. This devasted my grandmother. My uncle can hardly talk about it. It was a terrible death and very painful.
Mr. SF's father was also in WW II in the Canadian Army. His parents said he came back from the war a different person.
Mr. SF and I both think our fathers had PTSD. I am sure they suffered a great deal and in silence.

4 years ago

Marilyn

Veteran

Nice Remembrance Day look, Carla. Remembrance Day was very important to my dad and so it became so for me as well. He was RCAF.

My mom dated a man after my dad's passing who was on the beach on DDay when he was just 17. Can you imagine! He had no idea where his barge was headed and said he was lucky because he was new and didn't know anyone. If you stopped for a buddy you were shot. He just ran and didn't stop. He said he could hear the bullets whistle as they flew by his ears. There were bullet holes in his backpack. I asked if he wanted to go back to visit like some veterans do. It was an emphatic no. He said, "the last time I was there people were shooting at me".

4 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Beautiful. Thanks to your family for their service. And that's a KILLER outfit.

4 years ago

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Thank you for this. My maternal grandfather was a colonel in the US Army (engineering corp) during WWII and you reminded me of this on a day we need to drive to Jerusalem to take my son for Israeli army testing. I will remind him about his great-grandfather on the drive.
And you look fab !

4 years ago

nuancedream

Veteran

Thank you for posting these pictures and many, many thanks to your family for their service. Runcarla, I love how your red beret and bag echo the poppies of Remembrance Day.

4 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

When I was little, WWII was still a presence. My grand uncle flew for the RAF. But my family is also German, and even tho they left 100 years before the war, there were still connections. My spiritual director, she grew up running to bomb shelters; I think it had a lot to do with why she became a nun. I don’t know about WWI, WWII was so present.

I visited the Rosie The Riveter museum with my best friend from childhood and her children. She is Jewish and all but her grandparents died during the war. It was, well, interesting to talk with her very young children. They were bored by the museum. I told them about my mum winning a prize for collecting the most cans to make bullets. I guess I wanted them to feel something, to have a personal and nitty gritty sense of the war’s shadow... I’m afraid, well, I’m afraid they all see their grandma as simply neurotic. She’s not. She’s a survivor...

4 years ago

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