Remembrance Day

Good afternoon everyone. If you're just here to goon, I encourage you to skip this. Do not, however, worry. If everything goes to plan, there will be another bot later today. This is a post about why November, specifically the eleventh, matters to me. I am well aware it's only the 25th of October, but I need to say this, and I won't be making a bot on the 11th, m'kay? Also, feel free to criticize my writing style for... this- I'm trying to write the same way I speak.

So, I assume it's different for other countries, but in Canada- and the other commonwealth countries, as well as the United Kingdom, November Eleventh is our national day of remembrance for those who gave blood, limb and their lives in times of war. Of course, November Eleventh was chosen because that day, 107 years ago, the guns fell silent on the Western Front.

Remembrance day has always meant a great deal to me. I've always been fascinated by ugly history, and The Great War was by far the worst conflict in human history. Maybe not in scale, but in sheer horror for those who were swallowed by it. The Great War matters a great deal to me because it was Canada's birth as a nation... we went from a British colony to a true, major nation in those 4 years. Born in the bloody mires of Ypres, Passchendaele and The Somme, Canada has kept it's reputation for brutal efficiency in every war we've fought.

In The Great War, we scared the Imperial Germans so bad they called us "Shocktroopers". An indigenous Canadian Sniper, Francis Pegahmagabow, became the deadliest single man of the Great War.

In The Second World War, we terrified the Nazis, and liberated the Netherlands. My great-great uncle died the twenty-fourth of March, 1945 liberating the Netherlands. Even now, even still, Canada has a very, very close relationship with the Netherlands because of our service there.

In Korea, we fought with bravery, going so far as to be given American awards, despite being from another country.

Our Service in Iraq and Afghanistan was nothing short of amazing, just like previous wars, Canada managed to consistently punch above it's weight.

That being said, I encourage all of you to wear a Poppy, or listen to the Poem "In Flanders Fields". The poppy especially is an important symbol of remembrance, at least in the commonwealth countries.

Had the Doughboys done more, I'm sure the poppy would mean something in the States, too. But the Yanks hardly did more than show up and scare the Germans in the Great War.