Poppies
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I doubt the movie found all that much to embellish it with.
I meant the little details, the so-close-to-averting-disaster, that make it heartwrenching, not the overall military disaster. I know that's accurate.
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Now that you mention it, I do sort of vaguely remember that when I was a kid. I don't recall seeing anybody doing that in the last 40-50 years.
It's a major tradition in the UK now, as it is used to remember those who died and those veterans who survived from any war (though principally WW1 and those wars that happened after it). If you've got other days on the calendar for such memorials in the US, I can see this one being less important.
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I think this is worth seeing if you haven't: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-29935592 I think it's one poppy for every British soldier killed during WWI (Edit: I don't think it takes much to imagine what it would look like if it included all the French and German and American and Russian and Italian and Canadian and Austrian and Hungarian and Australian and Serbian and Turkish and Indian and African and etc. and etc. too.)
She argues/presents the case that the IJA and IJN backed themselves into putting themselves on the line in front of the Emperor, late in 1941.
Couldn't help think (to get it back on WWI) how that is similar to what Germany did with AustroHungary in WWI.
Alec Guinness
He's brilliant in the BBC mini-series of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Well worth seeing too imo. (Edit 2: I think if I was asked who was the greatest screen actor of all time his name would spring to my mind first.)
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If you've got other days on the calendar for such memorials in the US, I can see this one being less important.
Wikipedia:
Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day; Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans, while Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving.Memorial Day is a much more significant holiday than Veterans Day, if for no other reason that it is an actual holiday for more people. Veterans Day is a Federal holiday, so government offices, schools, banks and such are closed, but only about 20% of private employers observe it. Memorial Day is a Federal holiday, too, but it's celebrated as a beginning-of-warm-weather holiday by pretty much everyone.
However, I think the reason Veterans Day is so little observed, or at least a significant part of it, and that Memorial Day is mostly about warm weather rather than fallen military personnel, is that veterans, and the military in general, have been rather unpopular in recent decades (since Viet Nam).
I lived in the SF Bay Area for most of my adult life; while there are people there that seriously honor veterans on Memorial Day, it is the heart of the anti-war movement, and honoring veterans is the exception. Even among those who do, it tends to focus on Memorial Day rather than Veterans Day. And as I said, the poppies1 just aren't a thing any more, at least not in the areas where I lived.
The Navy is a major presence in this area, and if I were to go down to the Everett (home port of the USS Nimitz) waterfront on Tuesday, I suspect I'd see rather a bit of a different attitude than I'm used to. Unfortunately, I can't because I'm one of the 80% who don't get the day off.
1 If you started talking about poppies in CA, they'd assume you were referring to California poppies, or maybe opium poppies, but not the European poppies that are relevant here.
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One could also go outside and take a tour:
Start in Ieper
Visit a real trench
http://tourism.diksmuide.be/product/1126/trench-of-deathYou don't have to really look for the cemeteries while you are there ... there is one almost one in every village
You end the day at 8 pm at Ieper for
played daily since 1928 at the Menen Gate (go early because it is crowed these days).
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I came here hoping for an explanation for the poppy flower in the corner. I was disappointed.
The poppy became the WWI symbol through this poem:
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Grew up in California in the 1960s. Here's the associations I have for poppies in more or less the chronological order I acquired them:
(1) What the Wicked Witch used to put Dorothy, Toto and the Cowardly Lion to sleep (but not the Scarecrow or the Tin Man, because they didn't have to breathe).
(2) California state flower.
(3) Where opium comes from, and ultimately where heroin comes from.
(4) Long gap of about fifteen years where I got no additional associations.
(5) Seeds on the best flavor of bagels.
(6) The British war memorial thing, courtesy of Ken Russell's version of "Tommy".
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(3) Where opium comes from, and ultimately where heroin comes from.
this be the reason for #1
;-)
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side affects
Ouch. That hurt!
I came here hoping for an explanation for the poppy flower in the corner. I was disappointed.
/* Poppy */ body { background-image: url('/uploads/default/9442/e6250e4f321cf14f.png') !important; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: left bottom; background-size: 5%; }
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We have two British expats at work. They are the only ones with poppies on.
A poppy on a tee-shirt looks absurd, by the way. I am not going to wear a suit for a week, no matter how gnarly the war.
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two British expats at work. They are the only ones with poppies on.
It is mainly a British thing I guess. We have poppies at several monuments and stuff but wearing a poppy isn't common
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and the military in general, have been rather unpopular in recent decades (since Viet Nam).
I would have said this hasn't been true since the 80s. Except in weird places like the SF bay area.
Vietnam has been the most prominent focus of Memorial Day from what I've seen. Mainly because it was the last war with a lot of American dead and with a lot of people for whom it's a memory (I was born after, so it's all history to me).
Around DC, you know Memorial Day is coming because hordes of people show up on Harleys. But, given the nature of this place, I'd expect it to be different than other places, and it's not like it doesn't kick off summer here, either. That's when community pools tend to open up, for instance.
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It is mainly a British thing I guess. We have poppies at several monuments and stuff but wearing a poppy isn't common
There will be services held at just about every memorial to the fallen in the UK. Since there's a memorial in just about every city, town and village, this is a big deal. The general attitude of the veterans is that they'd rather that the politicians didn't attend, but failing that, no speeches thank you; the rest of the population thinks this is perfect. The UK wasn't hurt nearly so badly by the Vietnam war as the US, but was hit by WW1 much harder.
I won't be going this year. Going to be flying to the US instead (to meet friends in Portland, OR. :-) )
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There will be services held at just about every memorial to the fallen in the UK. Since there's a memorial in just about every city, town and village, this is a big deal.
That part we have here too. There are ceremonies today & on 11th in my (small) village. There is a special temporary monument built with all the names and photos when available of the fallen villagers.
The general attitude of the veterans is that they'd rather that the politicians didn't attend, but failing that, no speeches thank you; the rest of the population thinks this is perfect.
WW1 is seen by some as the starting point of the Flemish movement e.g. the rather mythical idea that most deaths where normal Flemish guys who didn't even understand the French commands from the French speaking higher officers.but was hit by WW1 much harder.
I'm from Brave Little Belgium
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I'm from Brave Little â– â– â– â– â– â– â–
Yep. Part of ground zero for many battles in that war (though I think some of the worst were in northern France).
In Flanders Fields Museum - Wikipedia
