Monday, May 19, 2014
Honoring our WWI veterans
Almost one hundred years ago on July 28 1914, war broke out in Europe. Although the United States did not enter WWI until April 6 1917, America was still dramatically effected by the war. World War I is considered one of the first modern wars, because of its advances in technology. The first planes, chemical weapons, and effective machine guns were used, resulting in a much larger man loss than the world had seen in previous wars. Because the 100th anniversary of the assassination of the Archduke of Austria is coming up, virtually all of the WWI veterans have passed away. The last veteran, Florence Green from Britain, died on February 4th 2012. My own great-grandfather was also was also a World War I veteran, but he passed away many years ago. Considering the mass destruction in the first modern war, it is safe to conclude that many people are related in some way to someone that was involved in the war. When looking at the death count for WWI, there were almost 37 million total military and civilian causalities. The toll this took on the world as a whole was devastating. In honor of those who fought for our country in WWI, I think we should all be thinking good thoughts to our soldiers everywhere and be grateful that they are putting their lives at risk for our safety.
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Jenna, I think this is a great post as the event sparked World War I anniversary is coming soon. I personally never had a family member that joined the army or really fought in any war. Though watching the documentaries about WWI/WWII or the Vietnam War and seeing soldiers reunite with their families drives the fact to me that these soldier risk their lives for the benefit of the American people. Not really knowing if they would ever see their families again and that to be honest is some I don't think I will ever have the courage to do.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing to think that WW1 happened 100 years ago, when to me, it seemed like it happened much more recently. It is also interesting how much warfare has changed since WW1 and WW2. Since the inventions of new technology and new weapons, the death casualties of wars have dropped drastically. In World War 1, over 200,000 Americans died in the short time America was involved in the war, while in Afghanistan, just over 2,000 American soldiers have died in over 10 years.
ReplyDeleteWWI was a bad time in history as learned last year from MEHAP. With such a high casualty rate such as that it's hard not to sympathize with all the mothers at home with no more sons. Still, it is important to honor those who died and the day that the fighting stopped. I agree with your closing statement and wish for the safety of those at the front.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of veterans, it's interesting to think how much the World War I and II veterans were honored from the beginning. However, the Vietnam War veterans were initially treated as pariahs, which essentially made them social outcasts. Was the cause of this due to the fact that the United States' lost the Vietnam War along with the televised broadcast of the war?
ReplyDeleteI think there is a sense of pride and grief involved in remembering war veterans. They can be heroes, sung or unsung or we can feel a sense of sadness from the fact that they had to watch their comrades die or suffer. I personally only feel pride for my great-grandfather who fought in WWII. But war is a tragic thing and everyone should feel grateful towards those soldiers who stood up to protect us and our nation.
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