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Information for a remembrance day essay
Information for a remembrance day essay
Information for a remembrance day essay
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In the age of near-sentient technology, people often forget about the sacrifices made by the brave men and women to get us to where we are today. Most people know November 11th as “Remembrance Day”, or simply to mark the end of the first world war. Despite the general classifications of this day, the significance of this date is much greater than perceived. On this day, we remember and honour the military personnel who served, are currently serving, and those who will serve in the future. After listening to the stories of these peace keepers, I developed a distinct respect towards these heroes for the sacrifices and risks they took in the hopes of preserving the peace and prosperity back home were far greater than I had imagined. Over the years, my interpretation of Remembrance Day changed dramatically. Initially I saw it as a strange event where we gathered around, watched somber videos, and chanted poems with no apparent meaning. The teachers kept pushing this idea of “sacrifice and bravery” into our heads. Knowing nothing more, we regurgitated the material back until they were satisfied. Although we were able to …show more content…
understand the reasons why we commemorated the 11th of November, we were still lacking the emotional and personal aspects of a soldier’s life. As a victim of the inadequate education, I continued to turn a blind eye to the frightening reality of this event for many years. After interacting with an Afghanistan veteran on a near personal level, my perspective on Remembrance Day was completely altered.
He told us about his training around the world, his 41 years of military service, and how he walked in the footsteps of his forefathers who served in both world wars. In 2007, he spent 6 months training and was deployed in Afghanistan as part of the psychological warfare effort. He also shared stories about how he often had to walk long and exhausting miles in the hot sun, constantly checking his surroundings for threats. After completing service in 2008 and retiring as a Captain, it was difficult for him to readjust into normal life due to the near death incidents he had encountered. Until that point, I was presented with an incomplete portrayal of a soldier’s life rather than the true hardships and
difficulties. Reflecting on the actions I’ve made in the past, I realize how inconsiderate and uncharitable I was. Rather than donating to the Veterans who played monumental roles in maintaining our Civil Liberties, I foolishly spent money on things we take for granted such as toys and candies. The two minutes of silence that was observed every year had absolutely no meaning, no emotion, no impact on me until now. Knowing something, and truly understanding it are two completely different things. In addition, meeting and getting to know a person who worked hard in the very situation we were taught about throughout school really opened up my mind in regards to how I look at Veterans and how I commemorate Remembrance Day. On this day, we think about the freedoms and privileges we take for granted; for without the soldier, there would be no liberty. No longer will I waste my two moments of serene peace, for they will be used to recognize those who have departed the path we call life for the good of our great country. Ultimately, the decisions and actions we as citizens make towards our veterans will have a lasting and significant impact on our legacy. Shall we be remembered as the ones who stayed hushed among the gunfire, or shall we be the ones to rise up and defend our core values? Minds, much like white banners enter battles, but forever leave with red stains. In itself, the red stain is only the destination. Without the veteran on the side, the journey would never be known; and so, it is vital that the stories of these heroes be shared and passed down to ensure that we never forget.
Philip was not much of a student failing and dropping out of his university and later joined a community college. So one day when the military came to his school and he enlisted himself to serve under the Marine Corp hoping to feed is hunger of adventure. First, Philip was sent to training camp where he learned the history of the marines, different war tactics and their basic weaponry functions. At this point Philip was very much egger to into the jungle and “fight for America”. After his basic training his time to enter the war came around he was sent to Okinawa where his group was stationed at. The days there grow long and dreadful as not action was seen for and long period of time but now just a couple of weeks after his group would be stepping into the war field. The group was given basic information of the war. Although it was more exciting then their train camp it wasn 't the war they were expecting, simply protecting their base camp for any enemy that tried to gain access to. This task didn 't last to long until one day another group got
his future life is finally result of what he is today, he grew up to become a dedicated veteran, a
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007. Print.
The author, Tim O'Brien, is writing about an experience of a tour in the Vietnam conflict. This short story deals with inner conflicts of some individual soldiers and how they chose to deal with the realities of the Vietnam conflict, each in their own individual way as men, as soldiers.
A time to remember those who died, those who served, and those who carry on.” ~Unknown. Servicemen make sacrifices daily. During 9/11, the Manhattan firefighters were responding to a gas leak when they heard the explosion from one of the twin towers. Policemen and firefighters from all around New York and surrounding areas came to help rescue the victims. They searched through rubbish and raced with time to check the buildings before and after the buildings collapsed. There were clouds of smoke, dust, and debris flying through the streets; blinding the bystanders. Hundreds of servicemen died that day, including military personnel in the Pentagon who were also hit by the hijackers. I had a cousin named Johnnie Doctor Jr who was in the Navy. He was killed in the Pentagon. I never got to know him, but from what I heard he was a great person to be
...y crying not knowing what to do then he turned and peered back to the Minnesota shore line. “It was as real as anything I would ever feel. I saw my parents calling to me from the far shoreline. I saw my brother and sister, all the townsfolk, the mayor and the entire Chamber of Commerce and all my old teachers and girlfriends and high school buddies. Like some weird sporting event: everybody screaming from the sidelines, rooting me on” (58). This is when he knew he could not turn his back on his beloved country. All the wrong he felt the draft was he could not cross the border to flee from anything or anyone. This whole situation describes the rest of his life, but mainly his years in the Vietnam War. He would have to make decisions, decisions that would be hard but would have to do for the ones he loved.
Born in Virginia, to mother Martha Puller and father Matthew Puller, he grew to become a well recognized marine globally (Russell & Cohn, 2012). His father’s dead while he was 10 years did not stop him to achieve a high point career; in fact, his childhood lifestyle of listening to war stories...
One of those things is the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. A young soldier with a face as solid as steel, hands as strong as iron takes twenty-one steps as he crosses in front of the white tomb. The words etched into the tomb are “Here Rests in Honored Glory An American Soldier But Known To God.” Americans from all walks of life watch, tears clouding the eyes as a young Boy Scout lays a red, white and blue wreath at the foot of the tomb. The soldier stopped and announced that all in attendance were to stand in silence, with their hand laid across their heart. All Veterans or current military personnel were encouraged to salute. I was fascinated by the young family beside me who was visiting from France. As they all placed their hands over their hearts I realized that American soldiers don’t just fight for America, they fight for the world. The patriotism swelled in my already overfilled
Tim O’ Brien’s narrative, How to Tell a War Story depicts the livelihood and experience of American soldiers during the Vietnam War. More so evaluating the life Tim O’ Brien and several other characters in his platoon. The sequences of stories reveals the thoughts and behavior of many post-Vietnam veterans and also can be related to the behavior of many veterans today. Throughout the segments of stories, “How to tell a War Story”, “Speaking of Courage and Notes”, and “The Things They Carried”, O’ Brien illustrates a common theme of guilt and sacrifice among the key characters Lieutenant Cross, Rat, and O’ Brien himself. Each character are presented with an unexpected responsibility and are forced to serve their state. A sense of discomfort
...though people believe that, those on the home front have it just as a bad as the soldiers, because they have to deal with the responsibilities of their husbands, there is nothing that can compare to what these men have gone through. The war itself consumed them of their ideology of a happy life, and while some might have entered the war with the hope that they would soon return home, most men came to grips with the fact that they might never make it out alive. The biggest tragedy that follows the war is not the number of deaths and the damages done, it is the broken mindset derives from being at war. These men are all prime examples of the hardships of being out at war and the consequences, ideologies, and lifestyles that develop from it.
When the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2011 rocked New York City, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C., the word “tragedy” was used on a grandiose level around the world. For the people who lived close enough to experience the events first-hand, they may not have even called it a tragedy; perhaps they called it a misfortune, retaliation, lack of a strong government, unreal, or maybe even rebirth. In the coming years after the attacks, everything between standing united as a nation to declaring a war had flourished; but how has that left us - the land that has no distinct ethnicity - feel about each other? Why is it that fear is usually missing in the affective mnemonics of memorial sites, which, after all, are signifiers of some of the most horrific violence in human history? Do memorials dedicated to these attacks bring us together in terms of understanding, or is it just continual collective grief? This paper will cover the global complexity of the 9/11 attacks, the Empty Sky 9/11 Memorial in Liberty State Park, NJ, and factors and theories that memorials do influence a sense of complexity. The ground of public memory is always in motion, shifting with the tectonics of national identity. I chose the Empty Sky 9/11 Memorial as my topic of observation as I, personally, visit a few times throughout the year to pay respects to people I personally knew who perished in the attacks to the World Trade Center. I was in the 5th grade when this happened, and had absolutely no clue what was going on until my father did not return home until two days later with a bandage wrapped around his head and his devastating recollection of what happened just before he arrived to his job. The emotions that I feel within myself compared to others will...
I chose the easy route of interview my grandpa (Dean Randel) who served in World War II as flight deck operator that signaled the aircrafts and got them ready for flight. He was station in San Diego on the USS Wisconsin which was of course a aircraft carrier. As I grew up he always told me stories of the good times he had with buddies and just living the good life. This is a first for me to sit down one on one with him and hear about what went on. Before I could even get a word in my grandpa ask me, “Do you know how Veterans Day was brought about?” I was so shock he was into doing this that I just shut my mouth and listened. He continued by saying in 1921, an American soldier -his name "known but to God "-was buried on a Virginia hillside overlooking the Potomac River and the city of Washington, DC. The burial site of this unknown World War I soldier in Arlington National Cemetery symbolized dignity and pride for all American veterans. Similar ceremonies occurred earlier in England and France, where an "unknown soldier” was buried in each nation’s highest place of honor (I later researched and found out it was in England, Westminster Abbey; in France, the Arc de Triomphe). These memorial gestures all took place on November 11, giving universal recognition to the celebrated ending of World War I hostilities at 11 a.m., November 11, 1918 (the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month). The day became known as "Armistice Day.”Armistice Day of...
The attack on Pearl Harbor and the horrific events of September 11, 2001, will both live on in our country’s history as times of great sadness and loss. These attacks were different in many ways however, they also share many substantial similarities. Both events changed the course of history and had a resounding impact on American society. Though these events occurred during very different time periods, the attacks will both be remembered as a time of sadness, and grief, but also as events that showed the good in our nation, and the strength of Americans, no matter who they were.
What it is like to go to War by Karl Marlantes is an extremely captivating story about what the war is like during and what the veterans who return home have to go through. It was a very intriguing read and gave the reader an inside look on the struggles of combat veterans that come back from war and have to readjust to society. After watching someone die daily and being wounded by a grenade himself, Marlantes’, received several medals for his actions including the Navy Cross, one of the highest combat awards. He treads carefully between the warrior as ‘hero’ and warrior as ‘victim,’ taking pains to articulate the diversity of his experience – the profound accomplishment he felt at receiving awards, in stark contrast to the frigid welcome back America He seems to have done research on top of his experience of war firsthand along with returning home after the war. He says that
With the Great War beginning over a hundred years ago in 1914 there are no survivors left to reflect or corroborate any first hand accounts of the war that ushered in deadly new practices like trench and chemical warfare. Paul Fussels book The Great War and Modern Memory explores not only the firsthand accounts but also literature to the subject published during that time. There are no shortage of war memories detailed in Fussels book, and many of them look into experiences had by soldiers during the war that are unique only to them. In a book that sets out to chronicle the memory of all of World War I why are these specific memories included? Obviously they are curated by Mr. Fussel, whose primary intention seems to be to give a well rounded