And this is why I love the Dutch! (Look how beautiful a gesture this is!)

[grizz]

As ANZACS invaded Gallipoli on 25th April 1915, Turkish leader, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk told his troops:
“I don’t order you to fight, I order you to die. In the time it takes us to die, other troops and commanders can come and take our places.”

87,000 ‘Mehmets’ fell.

Yet after the war he memorialised:

... You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.


Ships that transits the Dardanelles see this carving which translated reads,

Traveller halt!
The soil you tread
Once witnessed the end of an era
http://turkishnavy.net/2013/06/10/ru...raits-part-13/
http://www.anzacsite.gov.au/2visiting/turkish_stop.html

[grizz]

You're there! Do you recall the carving above the fortress of Killit Bahir?

[grizz]

Now I get the addiction...'X Marks the Scot'=Time Swallower

[rsvpiper]

Very very touching.. typing this with very watery eyes....

[Silk]

My Uncle was shot down on D Day. The magic of visiting his grave was to discover a wreath from an English crew member who had bailed out, survived, and returned to honour his fallen mates. We'd always believed that all had perished.

Now that is an awesome story! Were you able to get in contact with him??

[Silk]

Indeed your boys stood shoulder to shoulder...and fell...with our ANZACs.

Shoulder to shoulder, in the dark-chill of Dawn Service, we silently weep for them as yer' man's poem's recited.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
John McCrae (1872–1918)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCrae

You probably know this already Grizz but that poem is memorized by every child in Canada in their grade school years. I haven't met a person yet here who could not recite at least a few lines of it. And of course my very favourite Canadian war memorial (the Vimy Ridge Memorial in France) has a statue of "passing the torch" in reference to this poem.

And this little bit on Wikipedia is a nice background to his reason for writing that poem:

"At the age of 41, McCrae enrolled with the Canadian Expeditionary Force following the outbreak of the First World War. He had the option of joining the medical corps due to his training and age, but volunteered instead to join a fighting unit as a gunner and medical officer.^[4] It was his second tour of duty in the Canadian military. He previously fought with a volunteer force in the Second Boer War.^[5] He considered himself a soldier first; his father was a military leader in Guelph and McCrae grew up believing in the duty of fighting for his country and empire.^[6]

McCrae fought in the second battle of Ypres in the Flanders region of Belgium where the German army launched one of the first chemical attacks in the history of war. They attacked the Canadian position with chlorine gas on April 22, 1915, but were unable to break through the Canadian line which held for over two weeks. In a letter written to his mother, McCrae described the battle as a "nightmare": "For seventeen days and seventeen nights none of us have had our clothes off, nor our boots even, except occasionally. In all that time while I was awake, gunfire and rifle fire never ceased for sixty seconds ..... And behind it all was the constant background of the sights of the dead, the wounded, the maimed, and a terrible anxiety lest the line should give way."^[7]Alexis Helmer, a close friend, was killed during the battle on May 2. McCrae performed the burial service himself, at which time he noted how poppies quickly grew around the graves of those who died at Ypres. The next day, he composed the poem while sitting in the back of an ambulance.^["8]



Anyone who has a relative who fought at Ypres should be proud (and even if you don't!) What those men had to do to hold that line for the Allies until help could arrive was nothing short of remarkable.

Silk

P.S. The Australians were with us in the 3rd Battle of Ypres I know!

[Silk]

Thanks Silk,

Generation upon generation of French folk are equally grateful to us for sacrificing our sons for their liberty.

You know, other than the fact that France gave Canada the land that the Vimy Ridge Memorial stands on in perpetuity, I am unaware of any particular attachment or commemoration activities with the French there. It's rather strange seeing as to how many of our troops died there. Perhaps there is and I just don't know about it but I certainly know of the great friendship that was formed with the Dutch because of the war.

Silk

[Silk]

As ANZACS invaded Gallipoli on 25th April 1915, Turkish leader, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk told his troops:
“I don’t order you to fight, I order you to die. In the time it takes us to die, other troops and commanders can come and take our places.”

87,000 ‘Mehmets’ fell.

Yet after the war he memorialised:

... You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.


Ships that transits the Dardanelles see this carving which translated reads,

Traveller halt!
The soil you tread
Once witnessed the end of an era
http://turkishnavy.net/2013/06/10/ru...raits-part-13/
http://www.anzacsite.gov.au/2visiting/turkish_stop.html

Thank you for sharing that, that's quite something!

Silk

P.S. "Aye" doesn't work for me most of the time so if someone didn't get an "Aye" from me on a post, it's not because I didn't enjoy your response. ;)

[English Bloke]

Lest we forget...

Some pictures in this thread from 2010 that you may find interesting.

Apologies if you've already seen it.

[Silk]

Lest we forget...

Some pictures in this thread from 2010 that you may find interesting.

Apologies if you've already seen it.

No, I hadn't seen it. Thank you for posting it. I just went through and looked at all the pics and descriptions and I enjoyed seeing them. Thank you also for stopping at Vimy and noting some of the Canadian graves in other areas you stopped in too! I was not aware of France and Australia having forged a bond from the world wars till now so I learned something new today too.

Silk