11/11/11 in Canada
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Joined: Aug 1999
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From: Ontario
11/11/11 in Canada
On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month...
Canada War Museum. Architectural brilliance.
Memorial Hall is a quiet public space for rest and reflection.
A Place to Remember
Spend a moment of quiet remembrance in the Memorial Hall. Notice that the concrete walls, grooved with large, offset rectangles, are reminiscent of the rows of white grave markers in Allied war cemeteries. The lone artifact is the headstone from the grave of Canada's Unknown Soldier, a simple bench the only furniture. On Remembrance Day, at exactly 11:00 a.m., sunlight shines through a single window to frame perfectly the headstone, lest we forget.
My Father was an RCAF WAG (Wireless Air Gunner) trained for Lancaster bombers. Wireless was old-speak for radio and gunner was top turret two 50-calibers. He passed away many years ago.
Corvette link? He bought me one in 1960...sort of. It was a go-cart with a 3.5hp Briggs&Stratton engine with a 1958 Corvette-style fiberglass body. I adored it. But it needed a valve job. Anyone remember valve grinding compound with a suction twist stick? Lapped by hand?
So, tomorrow I will remember my Father and the many brave souls who endured past and present wars. Both those who did not come back and those who did with physical and mental scars.
It was Vimy Ridge in WWI that began to define Canada as a nation. I shall remember tomorrow.
Canada War Museum. Architectural brilliance.
Memorial Hall is a quiet public space for rest and reflection.
A Place to Remember
Spend a moment of quiet remembrance in the Memorial Hall. Notice that the concrete walls, grooved with large, offset rectangles, are reminiscent of the rows of white grave markers in Allied war cemeteries. The lone artifact is the headstone from the grave of Canada's Unknown Soldier, a simple bench the only furniture. On Remembrance Day, at exactly 11:00 a.m., sunlight shines through a single window to frame perfectly the headstone, lest we forget.
My Father was an RCAF WAG (Wireless Air Gunner) trained for Lancaster bombers. Wireless was old-speak for radio and gunner was top turret two 50-calibers. He passed away many years ago.
Corvette link? He bought me one in 1960...sort of. It was a go-cart with a 3.5hp Briggs&Stratton engine with a 1958 Corvette-style fiberglass body. I adored it. But it needed a valve job. Anyone remember valve grinding compound with a suction twist stick? Lapped by hand?
So, tomorrow I will remember my Father and the many brave souls who endured past and present wars. Both those who did not come back and those who did with physical and mental scars.
It was Vimy Ridge in WWI that began to define Canada as a nation. I shall remember tomorrow.
Last edited by Paul L; Nov 10, 2013 at 07:24 PM.
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Always the saddest day of the year for me Paul. I have the honour of being named after my late uncle who perished in the war. My father (age 87) will be leading the Legion ceremony tomorrow to place a wreath at the war memorial in their small town.
We can never do enough to thank them for their service.
We can never do enough to thank them for their service.
Melting Slicks
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From: I may be getting old but I refuse to grow up
Tomorrow I will remember my grandfather WO in the RCAF, he was stationed in Iceland during the war and spent some time afloat after being shot down in the North Atlantic
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From: Ontario
Always the saddest day of the year for me Paul. I have the honour of being named after my late uncle who perished in the war. My father (age 87) will be leading the Legion ceremony tomorrow to place a wreath at the war memorial in their small town.
We can never do enough to thank them for their service.
We can never do enough to thank them for their service.
Mine served on the Commonwealth Graves Commission in 1946-47. He was a mechanic and charged with the task of dismantling destroyed field vehicles (tanks, etc) and attempting to identify remains for proper burial. As you can imagine that was a nasty job. He never spoke of it.
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From: Ontario
Warrant Officer. Out of Iceland he must have been anti-submarine.
Last edited by Paul L; Nov 10, 2013 at 07:27 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2002
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From: I may be getting old but I refuse to grow up
Not sure Paul I know he was a radio/communications, he retired while stationed in Trenton where my SIL is stationed now. There is a museum on the base (across the road from my daughters house) that I've yet to get to so I can try and learn more (he passed when I was about 12)
Thread Starter
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Joined: Aug 1999
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From: Ontario
Not sure Paul I know he was a radio/communications, he retired while stationed in Trenton where my SIL is stationed now. There is a museum on the base (across the road from my daughters house) that I've yet to get to so I can try and learn more (he passed when I was about 12)
It is ...I do not know what to say. Bizarre. I have written performance appraisals from 1939 when he was a very young man! Long before he was married. And long before I was born.
Last edited by Paul L; Nov 10, 2013 at 08:48 PM.
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Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2004
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My pop was in the Ukrainian resistance against the *****. He was caught because of an informant and spent the rest of his time In Dora underground factory building V2's by force. Amazingly he survived. Died last Feb at 91.
Steve L
73 coupe since new
Steve L
73 coupe since new
Thread Starter
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Joined: Aug 1999
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From: Ontario
Les,
There were so many stories that he could have told but never did. My Mom hid them as well, but she knew the pain it gave him. Both are long gone now as are their memories. But tomorrow I will think long and hard about veterans and those beautiful women who supported them.
There were so many stories that he could have told but never did. My Mom hid them as well, but she knew the pain it gave him. Both are long gone now as are their memories. But tomorrow I will think long and hard about veterans and those beautiful women who supported them.
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 1999
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From: Ontario
An amazing story. Thank you for sharing! The V2s almost changed the balance of power in WWII.
2026 Loser of the Year
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From: New Or-leens Loo-z-anna
Les,
There were so many stories that he could have told but never did. My Mom hid them as well, but she knew the pain it gave him. Both are long gone now as are their memories. But tomorrow I will think long and hard about veterans and those beautiful women who supported them.
There were so many stories that he could have told but never did. My Mom hid them as well, but she knew the pain it gave him. Both are long gone now as are their memories. But tomorrow I will think long and hard about veterans and those beautiful women who supported them.
That's an example of what Veterans kept hidden from their loved ones.....that's why the Veterans came home quietly---woke up drenched in their own sweat from the dreams they could never forget.
God bless them for caring so much.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2008
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From: Ottawa Ontario
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2002
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From: I may be getting old but I refuse to grow up
National Archives can give you everything you want to know. Right down to medical records. You do need to know service number, etc.
It is ...I do not know what to say. Bizarre. I have written performance appraisals from 1939 when he was a very young man! Long before he was married. And long before I was born.
It is ...I do not know what to say. Bizarre. I have written performance appraisals from 1939 when he was a very young man! Long before he was married. And long before I was born.
Pro
Joined: Oct 2013
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From: Denver CO
A lot of the newest generation aren't aware of the original significance of Armistice Day, now called Veterans Day. Glad to see it written in here.
Yesterday was the Marine Corps 238th Birthday; Marines have double to remember during this month. The battle of Belleau Wood was when they got their nickname "Teufel Hunden" or Devil Dogs by German troops.
Yesterday was the Marine Corps 238th Birthday; Marines have double to remember during this month. The battle of Belleau Wood was when they got their nickname "Teufel Hunden" or Devil Dogs by German troops.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2010
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From: Emerald Isle NC
My Great Uncle was a crop duster pilot in South Georgia. Army Air Corps wouldn't let him in as a pilot as he hadn't attended a formal flight school. He enlisted in the RCAF. Flew fighters in the Battle of Britain. Came back, Joined the Air Corps, and flew through the end of the war, finishing with medium bombers, B-25s and 26s.
I thank the RCAF for recognizing him for the aviator he was, and giving him a chance to distinguish himself when his own country wouldn't.
Carter
P.S. Canada is the best ally the U.S. has ever had.
I thank the RCAF for recognizing him for the aviator he was, and giving him a chance to distinguish himself when his own country wouldn't.
Carter
P.S. Canada is the best ally the U.S. has ever had.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2004
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German techies would match parts for subassemblies because of tolerancing issues then send them off for the forced labor to install. The forced labor would reassemble these subassemblies to get them to seize up. Guards would shot on the spot if they got caught.