Veterans Day

[rickthedrummer]

God bless all my brothers and sisters wherever they may be.

To those in Irag and Afghanistan, get home safe.

[Kazaamski]

Amen G-dspeed

[Bish]

Thank you to all the current and past service men and women for your service to our country!!

[thunderstruck]

The Men and Women who have served, and are serving, The United States deserve respect and gratitude. I thank all who have served, and are serving, for your heroic deeds. God Bless you and your families.

[Drumbledore]

Yesterday many Australians paid tribute to those service men and women who had fallen in past wars and present. At 11am, on November the 11th, we all stop work for a minute of unified silence to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country. We also observe Anzac Day on April 25th every year.

[poodlesdrum]

Let's not ignore the origin of Nov. 11th, as the WWI Armistice, involving a number of countries.

WWI was a horrible mess, folks dying like rats, in swapped trenches, landscapes entirely wiped out by *years* of bombing. Nothing like modern warfare. WWI was referred to, at the time, as "the last war ever" (my approximate rendition).
The BBC had a segment on WWI recently, it said that the average frontline soldier's lifespan was 6 weeks...

[rickthedrummer]

The 8th Air Force in WWII had the highest casualty rate of any of the services.

They flew the most dangerous missions of the war. The daylight bombing missions over Germany. They had to deal with the flak, then the German fighters. Once they made their final approach to the target, they had to fly straight at a given altitude, which made them sitting ducks for the German fighters.

I'm pulling this from memory (so my figures are not precise) but there were something like 90,000 airmen that flew in the 8th, and their casualties were something like 33,000, dead and wounded.

The Memphis Belle was the first bomber to make 25 missions with the crew intact.

You were probably safer as a front line infantry man than you would be as part of a bomber crew.

[Tazmania]

Great post and hats off to those who served, who never made it home and those who still defend their nation.

[fumbled time]

+1 great post rick, And thank you to all who serve and have served our country.

[pastor_bob]

A great big "thank you" going out to all our veterans. There is no greater sacrifice than being willing to lay down one's life for another, and each one of our veterans has made that choice. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

[rickthedrummer]

I'm more proud of my 4 years in the Air Force (2 in Nam) than any of the other 61 years.