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This is taken fairly seriously in Henley-on-Thames, with a remembrance service outside the town hall and parade by various Cadet Corps and so on. About 20 wreaths were laid at the town hall steps in front of the memorials of the town's dead from the two world wars.

I observed the two minutes silence in the countryside next to the river.

Who else marked this day?

I always spend 2 mins in silence on remembrance day, got to respect the heros who served in the army for us in the past, the present and the soldiers of the future

I observed 2 minutes silence at 11am EST. I honour, am humbled and remember those who serve.

To be honest the two minute silence always seems to pass me by but I always donate and wear a poppy on the lead up to armistice day.

I observed the two minutes while out with the dog. My poppy never comes off my jacket but I still put money in the box.

I did one minute of silence.

I always sleep through the two minutes, so I don't know if I was actually silent or not.

I posted a Remembrance poem I wrote 2 years ago on dA, having posted it on FB when it was written and taking it down when I learned that pretty anything you post on FB becomes their property (or something along those lines).

Remembrance

To the soldiers old and new,
To the people who gave their lives,
To the young men who would never know the full extent of life,
And the old who will never be forgotten.

To the many people who fought for freedom,
To the souls of those who fell,
To the soldiers who saw their friends die,
But through love for them fought on.

To the people back home,
To the people who gave support,
To the many men and women who fought behind the scenes,
As to ensure every person's survival.

To the words spoken for freedom,
To the actions of all free men,
To the gracious God our father,
Who now grants them life in heaven.

To the many merry times,
To the Christmas cease fires,
To the differences made similarities,
During the time of sacrifice made for us all.

To the lives now passed on,
To the spirits who guarded our freedom,
To the people who now remember the fallen,
And to peace on Earth again.

Lest We Forget

It's not my best work, but it's not intended to be, it's what it represents that matters.

I was down at city hall today for the ceremony at our town's cenotaph.

It's always very humbling to be able to go and thank our Veterans for their service and sacrifice. And I find it even more touching how they thank me in return for caring.

I always think back on my great grandad who served in the First World War. He was in the charge at Vimmy Ridge, he suffered through the mustard gas attacks at Ypres. At the Somme he crawled out into no man's land to try and save a fellow soldier who'd been hit by enemy fire. They spent most of the night, cold and soaked in a shell hole while the artillery fell around them. My grand dad made it back to the Canadian trench lines, though he took a bullet in the knee, but sadly, the young man he'd tried to save bled out before they got back to safety.

It takes a really special kind of courage to stand up volunteer to serve your country. I'd like to say thank-you to everyone here on Dakka who's served and is still presently serving to keep us all safe!

Thank-you for all you've done!

I posted a poem in the other thread on this subject and will be participating in the reading of the casualty list from Iraq and Afghanistan tomorrow as well as acknowledging a campus wide moment of silence.

To be honest I'm not a big fan of rememberance day. It has become a ritual and like all rituals there is an element of mindlessness to it.

Every single person on TV wears a poppy for the first couple of weeks in November and then you never see another until the following November. I wonder how many of them have given any thought as to why the Poppy is worn? Of course its not all meaningless, the minutes silence held at the Scotland Vs All Blacks game today for instance.

I am serving, I knew 2 people who have been killed (1 in Iraq and1 in Afghan) and I have visited Arras, the Somme valley and Ypres and the truly vast cemetaries that they contain. I know what the real purpose of rememberance day is more than most and I am not being some internet contrarian but every year the 11th of November seems a little more forced and artifical. Maybe I'm just getting old.

I think that the most apt memorial is the one erected at ANZAC cove at Galipoli by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (the father of modern Turkey who was an Ottoman divisional commander at Galipoli).

"Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives…
You are now living in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours…
You, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace, after having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well."

Palindrome wrote:
To be honest I'm not a big fan of rememberance day. It has become a ritual and like all rituals there is an element of mindlessness to it.

Every single person on TV wears a poppy for the first couple of weeks in November and then you never see another until the following November. I wonder how many of them have given any thought as to why the Poppy is worn? Of course its not all meaningless, the minutes silence held at the Scotland Vs All Blacks game today for instance.

I am serving, I knew 2 people who have been killed (1 in Iraq and1 in Afghan) and I have visited Arras, the Somme valley and Ypres and the truly vast cemetaries that they contain. I know what the real purpose of rememberance day is more than most and I am not being some internet contrarian but every year the 11th of November seems a little more forced and artifical.

Should we scrap it then?

 MeanGreenStompa wrote:

Should we scrap it then?

No, but in another few decades I can see it becoming yet another commerical holiday.

As less and less people die in wars the need for personal rememberance will pass which will just leave the ritual of rememberance which will inevitably become commercialised or just fade away.

Palindrome wrote:

 MeanGreenStompa wrote:

Should we scrap it then?

No, but in another few decades I can see it becoming yet another commerical holiday.

As less and less people die in wars the need for personal rememberance will pass which will just leave the ritual of rememberance which will inevitably become commercialised or just fade away.

It's not just about recent wars but all the wars your nation has been in.

Palindrome I think that's more a symptom of the widening gap between civilians and the military. Not sure how it is over seas but here in the U.S. and especially with the Marine Corps... coming back to civilian life is like moving to the U.S. from a different country... there's such a difference in culture. it's not their fault, they just don't understand. They don't live with the deaths of friends and comrades every day.

For the veteran, the soldier, the Marine, the sailor or the airman and for the families of the same, every day is Remembrance day or Veteran's/Memorial day. For the majority of the civilian population it seems to be a time of the year to display your patriotism and get on with your day.

You do get good discounts to buy major end items though. Wife used her dependent card to the extreme for some nice deals.

 KalashnikovMarine wrote:
Palindrome I think that's more a symptom of the widening gap between civilians and the military.

In the UK its actually the reverse. The forces, and especially the army, have traditionally been viewed with distaste. In the last decade there has been a noticable thawing of attitudes. Random people have even stopped me in the street to thank me when I have been in uniform.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Cheesecat wrote:

It's not just about recent wars but all the wars your nation has been in.

I am aware of that. The casualty rates of modern wars is far lower than they used to be, even the size of the armed forces is tiny compared to the past. There are simply less people who have been personally affected than previous generations. When remeberance day was started in 1919 virtually every single person in the country would have lost at least 1 friend of relative. Now its probably less than 1 in a 1000.

We'll you do find lots of people still carry on with their day during the two minutes silence. It's frequently interrupted in the shop I work in by arseholes with no sense of respect wanting to buy more crap. Waiting 2 minutes is just massively inconvenient apparently.

I had one guy who that upon the tannoy announcement that we'd now be observing the two minutes silence asked for help stating that "It was five to on his watch". I just shook my head and turned away.

I'm almost positive it was him and his wife that were in last year and walked about talking/shopping during.

Obviously that's their right to do, just makes them an arsepiece. ymmv.

Two minutes out of your day isn't much to ask as a mark of respect. Generally I associate it more with WW1 & 2 though.

To play the devil's advocate here, what is so special about having those minutes at that exact point in time? Many people will have been observing them a few minutes either side due to how they set their clocks/watches; does that make them wrong for doing so? Is respect for the fallen dependant upon staying silent for 2 minutes at that exact point time, no earlier, no later?

I know that whenever I hear about soldiers, especially those that have died recently, my thoughts immediately go out to those affected, and I acknowledge what they have done in their service to furthering the cause of peace, but if I miss those 2 minutes, does that automatically mean I don't care?

 KalashnikovMarine wrote:
For the veteran, the soldier, the Marine, the sailor or the airman and for the families of the same, every day is Remembrance day or Veteran's/Memorial day. For the majority of the civilian population it seems to be a time of the year to display your patriotism and get on with your day.

Remembrance Sunday/armistice day is not the Equivellent of Veterans day. We have Armed Forces Day in the UK in June. Remembrance is a sombre occasion where we reflect on the loss of life. It's not a throw up of war it is the opposite and has nothing to do with patriotism.

 Avatar 720 wrote:
To play the devil's advocate here, what is so special about having those minutes at that exact point in time? Many people will have been observing them a few minutes either side due to how they set their clocks/watches; does that make them wrong for doing so? Is respect for the fallen dependant upon staying silent for 2 minutes at that exact point time, no earlier, no later?

I know that whenever I hear about soldiers, especially those that have died recently, my thoughts immediately go out to those affected, and I acknowledge what they have done in their service to furthering the cause of peace, but if I miss those 2 minutes, does that automatically mean I don't care?

The symbolism of having the silence at 11.00 in the 11th November is because that is the time and date that signifies the end of WW1. Which is pretty much when the tradition began. Although I'm sure you knew that already Sure, some will be a few minutes either way, and that doesn't really matter. But if you were out and about, like that guy that MoD mentioned, and refuse to mark the silence because your watch is slightly off, then you seem like an arsehole. If everyone around you is silent, and you aren't, then I, and many others will think you're an arse. Even if your watch says otherwise.

In recent years there has been a move towards observing the silence on the 11th Nov as well as Remembrance Sunday (which of course have coincided this year.) When I was young, people only observed the Sunday silence. Things have changed due partly to continuing involvement in Afghanistan, I think.

Been asleep through it for the past 5 years. Does seem to be a lot more "hysterical" than I remember it being. Particularly on facebook, I would say it borders on fanatical at times.

Yesterday was Veterans Day in the US. I called my dad and step-dad (both vets) then drank beer and watched football in honor of all of the other veterans. It's what they would have wanted.

I saw one of my mates post lest we forget on facebook yesterday, which is understandable. Some chick he knows responded with 'is it ANZAC day?'. Seriously, some people...

also, this

 Glorioski wrote:
Remembrance is a sombre occasion where we reflect on the loss of life. It's not a throw up of war it is the opposite and has nothing to do with patriotism.

is a good point to have been said.

 Glorioski wrote:

 KalashnikovMarine wrote:
For the veteran, the soldier, the Marine, the sailor or the airman and for the families of the same, every day is Remembrance day or Veteran's/Memorial day. For the majority of the civilian population it seems to be a time of the year to display your patriotism and get on with your day.

Remembrance Sunday/armistice day is not the Equivellent of Veterans day. We have Armed Forces Day in the UK in June. Remembrance is a sombre occasion where we reflect on the loss of life. It's not a throw up of war it is the opposite and has nothing to do with patriotism.

Nor did I say it's a throw up of war. Veteran's Day in the United States, and Memorial Day in the spring serve much the same purpose for active duty military and veterans. We remember our dead. The perceptions and attitudes of civilians for those same days is from an entirely different planet it seems. Patriotism in this case refers to fulfilling an obligation, you put on your poppy, or your American flag pin, bow your head and look somber and otherwise ignore the whole thing unless you've got friends or family in the military.

Maybe I'm just jaded and it's better over seas. I hope so.

I think that Remembrance has lost a good part of its meaning as well since there's fewer and fewer young people who have direct links to our older Veterans and/or current service members.

Here in Canada for example, the average age of our surviving WWII vets is now 88, while our Korean War vets average 80 years now. Without the stories of Grandpa or Grandma about what happened and how it affected them, there's more and more children who have little to no understanding of the importance of remembering the sacrifices that have and continue to be made for us to enjoy our freedoms and democracy.
Add to this sad fact the craptastic school system that every year tries even harder to limit the teaching our history due to 'political correctness' and to not 'scare or scar young minds' and it's shamefull.

Finally, I think all these damn political groups need to go feth off when it comes to the Remembrance Ceremonies themselves. Hell, yesterday, it seemed like every damned union from teachers to steelworkers along with every last politcal party affiliate was specially announced during the laying of the wreaths!

Always. I have a living grandfather who fought in the Second World War, a great-grandfather who died in the same conflict, and a great-great-grandfather who died in the First World War. For me it's about remembering their heroism and sacrifice, but also about recalling that such events should never be allowed to happen again.

I think that's why some people are uncomfortable about the military today, and that's perfectly fine - in an ideal world we wouldn't need the armed forces at all. I'm immensely grateful to my ancestors - it's because of them and people like them that I don't have to go to war myself. I think most people are able to distinguish between the incredible dedication of those who do serve, and the far murkier world that creates the wars they fight in.

I wore a poppy and observed the silence for my grandfather that served in the British army during wwii and I visited the grave of my grandfather that served in the US navy during Korea

Oh no, I forgot all about it. Now that I'm not in high school, Remembrance Day is a lot more invisible to me.