Veterans Day

Today is Veterans Day here in the US, it is also the 90th anniversary of Armistice Day and on Sunday it was Remembrance Day in the UK.  Last year I wrote a post about Remembrance Day in the UK here and again this year I find myself missing the power and poignancy of those red poppies.  I miss the feeling of being united with others who, for the two weeks prior to Remembrance Day, wear a poppy as a mark of respect, gratitude and remembrance.

In the US we have Veterans Day to remember and honor our military Veterans and then in May there is also Memorial Day to remember those who died while in military service to their country.  So in theory you would think that the US did more "honoring and remembering" but it doesn't really feel like that to me.  Memorial day isn't really a dedicated day of remembrance it is about the start of summer and BBQs as much as, if not more than, about remembering the fallen.  Although, that said, the Memorial Day parades can be spectacular and stirring, those Americans sure can do a parade ! Yet still I find those silently falling poppy petals in the Royal Albert Hall connect me more to the tragedy of war, to those who never came home and the need to never forget.

US Veterans day is a Bank Holiday which should make it more of a big deal but somehow it  doesn't seem to have the effect of increasing the focus on remembering our Veterans, rather it seems to be almost a distraction from what should be a powerful day of remembrance and appreciation.

When I first moved to the US I was so shocked to see that many retailers here hold Veterans Day Sales, which would be all well and good if they were fund raisers but, as far as I can tell, none of the proceeds go to help our Veterans or their families. I don't really understand the connection between honoring a Veteran and having a week of sale shopping!   It seems especially inappropriate right now when we are in the fifth year of war in Iraq.  When there have been over 4193 American lives lost, 176 British, 138 Allied and countless Iraqi deaths.  The concept of Veterans Day Sales just seems to trivialize what Veterans Day is supposed to be about.  Not so much "Lest we forget" as "Shop till you drop"

Which isn't to say Americans aren't appreciative or proud of their military, they do appreciate their service and sacrifice and they are extraordinarily proud of them.  No matter our opinion on today's war, all Americans support their troops, that is very clear. 

However, back home, Remembrance Sunday always seemed to be a much more reflective day than Veterans Day is here.  A somber day when we are all sobered by thoughts of the terrible destruction and horrific loss of life that war brings, a day when we redouble our determination to ensure that war is always our last resort not our first option in resolving International conflict. A day to think with gratitude of those who fought, suffered and laid down their lives that we might live with peace and freedom.

I wonder if that collective experience of the poignancy of Remembrance Day is in part is why there were so many more anti-war protests in the UK prior to the start of the war in Iraq compared to here in the US where we seemed to be led almost without protest into this war.  It seemed like a portion of America relished the chance to 'kick butt," it seemed like they were very disconnected from the horrible reality of war, broken bodies, terrible destruction, civilians living in fear and touched by death everyday, young men and women who never come home.  Perhaps if Veterans Day and Memorial Day weren't "sale days" they would better serve their intended purpose.

Maybe its because in Europe some of the scars of those wars can still be seen in our cities and countryside.  Scars from nights of blanket bombing and battle fields that ran with blood, guts and mud. We came close to seeing our own destruction.  In WWI 5.4 million British served and 703,000 died, a generation of young man almost wiped out. In WW2 nearly *48 million British served and 382,600 died with an additional 67,800 civilian deaths. 

America joined the wars and turned the tide, they sacrificed and served in their millions and died in the hundreds of thousands (including 1,700 civilian deaths) but America didn't experience invasion and occupation of their soil as so many European countries did.  In WWI 4.7 million Americans served and 116,516 died, in WW2 16.1 million Americans served and 405,399 lost their lives, some of those American servicemen lie buried in the European soil that they died liberating and protecting.  It was they who earned America our respect and gratitude.  Lets never forget them.

p.s Apparently back home this dreadful song is at the top of the charts and, whilst I personally can't stand the song, it is wonderful that all the proceeds are going to help our Veterans and that it helps bring attention to those who are serving for us right now in Iraq and Afghanistan.    The money raised is being shared equally between The British Royal Legion who run The Poppy Appeal each year and Help for Heroes  which is a charitable organization that only began last October and has already raised more than 13 million pounds to help wounded servicemen and women!

*Click here here to see the staggering numbers of dead in WW2 listed by country and here for the casualties numbers for the current war in Iraq.