LEST WE FORGET

Holding . . . tongue . . .

 

I have a new friend who just got out of the army last year. She doesn't like to make a big deal about her service and even passionately tells anyone considering joining the army not to.

I don't know if Veteran's Day call would please her or piss her off, but I think I'll do it anyway.

 

Just put out my flag; thanks for the reminder. Most of us can only imagine what it's like to go through some of things our soldiers experience.

Thank you to every one of you.

 

Thanks to all the vets out there, and a special shoutout to our own t_b_f. Also thanks to my late father-in-law whose ship sank a Japanese battlewagon back in the day.

 

I, too, say thank you to each and every one of you. Especially to those on the board that I may or may not know are veterans.

But my biggest personal thank you goes out to AlleyAllen. Enjoy your day off, Brother. And know that the "Thanks You's" go beyond mere words.

 

If you look at the back right-hand side of a Canadian $10 bill, you will see an old veteran standing at attention near the Ottawa war memorial. His name is Robert Metcalfe and he died last month at the age of 90.

That he managed to live to that age is rather remarkable, given what happened in the Second World War. Born in England , he was one of the 400,000 members of the British Expeditionary Force sent to the mainland where they found themselves facing the new German warfare technique - the Blitzkrieg.

He was treating a wounded comrade when he was hit in the legs by shrapnel.

En route to hospital, his ambulance came under fire from a German tank, which then miraculously ceased fire. Evacuated from Dunkirk on HMS Grenade, two of the sister ships with them were sunk.

Recovered, he was sent to allied campaigns in North Africa and Italy . En route his ship was chased by the German battleship Bismarck .

In North Africa he served under General Montgomery against the Desert Fox, Rommel.

Sent into the Italian campaign, he met his future wife, a lieutenant and physiotherapist in a Canadian hospital. They were married in the morning by the mayor of the Italian town, and again in the afternoon by a British padre.

After the war they settled in Chatham where he went into politics and became the warden (chairman) of the county and on his retirement he and his wife moved to Ottawa . At the age of 80 he wrote a book about his experiences.

One day out of the blue he received a call from a government official asking him to go downtown for a photo op. He wasn't told what the photo was for or why they chose him. 'He had no idea he would be on the bill,' his daughter said.

 

Great story, HC.

I called my dad, and started crying before I even got done. He thanked me, then kind of brushed it away ("I was drafted, it's not like I signed up"). He really doesn't like talking about it.

But I thanked him.

 

To the veterans on this board - thank you

I have no way to place myself in your shoes for the sacrafices you have made for our countries.

I have a little one now, and I cannot imagine running off to a foreign country that I might not ever return to see my little girl again.

So the best I can do right now is say thanks.



I know Flash started a thread already, but it did not have "veterans" in the title.

 

I started another thread to place "veterans" in the title.

Eighteen posts is far too few. Heck, my high school reunion thread has more.

 

Yeah, but most of them call you an idiot.

 

Metcalfe, as a veteran, did tremendous work for veterans ... if ever a child could use a role model, it's his him.

 

Oh pardon me for not putting 'veterans' in the title.

'Lest we forget' is a very common phrase and I'm pretty sure most people knew what I was getting at.

And just because people aren't posting doesn't mean they aren't reflecting on the day.