I do not have much time for this as I have an appointment with some American Legion "poppy people" to give them a hand with their sad task today. I will say this - dad was a Canadian by birth and, at the time he was born, was a subject of King George V. He was also a subject of George VI until he became a U.S. citizen in 1942 while in the U.S. Army. His early years were spent north of the border. I remember him telling me about what was done in Canada every Nov 11th. A little demographic study is required. Canada was in WWI from the first day, and gave her support unflinchingly to the mother country when it was desperately needed. The Canadian Corps was considered one of the toughest outfits in the British Army in Europe. Due to this reputation they took many losses in war - so many, in fact, that to this day Canada still has a somewhat greater proportion of female to male citizens, as so many young men from that country died in that war. The unborn males represent the children the Canadian dead never had. There were so many missing faces after WWI is greatly affected everyone's feelings on this day. The Canadians knew how to mark the event - everything, and I mean everything (except aircraft in flight) stopped dead at 11AM and there were two minutes of absolute silence throughout the country. This included big-name, fast passenger trains on the CP and CN, factory work, people in shops and on the sidewalks in cities and towns across Canada. At 11:02 everything picked up again as before. This happened in Britain as well, as there were so many war dead there - hardly a family in the British Isles was not affected by this. I think changing the name here in the states to Veterans' Day does this a disservice. This is a day about suffering and death, and sacrifice, so we who inherit this priceless heritage can remember what it took to preserve it, what we've got to do to keep it, and vow not to let that sacrifice and suffering be in vain. It's not a day for sales in stores, and it's definitely not proper to wish anyone a happy Veterans' Day!! Please find it in your heart, and in your time, to remember for two minutes this day those who had their lives torn from them so you can enjoy what you've got.
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