By Bixyl Shuftan
Friday Nov 11 was
Veterans Day in the United States, a holiday where Americans take a moment to remember their veterans. It's also observed in a number of other countries as Armistice Day/Remembrance Day. The reason for the date is for WW1 (known at the time as The Great War) coming to an end on Nov 11, 1918.
The Veterans Tribute was a location set up every November for the occasion. The stage would see some events.
On Tuesday November 8, there would be a Veterans Day dance over Caledon Oxbridge Village.
Come and join DJ Cynthia and Andrea Jones as we Salute our Veterans today at 6 PM. Veterans Day is November the 11th so we are Saluting a few days early.!
We will be at the Airbase Hanger for our dancing and fun. Dress theme is formal, veterans can be in military dress as you will be asked to come forward at the end of event.
As the event went on, people chatted about a few things. When some songs from WW2 played, someone commented of the recording of the announcement about Pearl Harbor, Katie (Katie Canningham) would comment, "A friend of my dad's was there. He also was on the Missouri for the surrender; that one, he liked to talk about. ... Admiral Yamamoto I think his name was tried to warn his government that it was a bad idea but they didn't listen." Shockwave Yareach responded, "The theory was valid, had they also taken out the carriers. But since we weren't on our knees from the attack, they goofed badly." "We were darned lucky they happened to not be in port." "We'd have started building new carriers on the East coast and then move in force once 3 or 4 were built. But it takes years to build a carrier." Cynthia herself would say, "He told them give six months and we would began countering. Also they failed to carry out a third attack and in it all they failed to destroy the fuel oil tanks and other supplies." Shockwave went on, "They decided to not attack the third time. The element of surprise was lost. Now had they hit the fuel dumps, that would have been very bad. Or the repair facilities." Cynthia continued, "Yes cause most of their lose was in the second wave and they had not expected us to recover so quickly." Katie wondered, "But still I'm not sure how much of a defense wed've been able to mount at that point." Shockwave answered, "Remember those carriers that weren't found? They gots planes."
There was also some musing about the movie, "The Final Countdown." One guy commented, "The one thing that happened from the time travel trip was one guy got left behind, and apparently made some money during that 40 years." "Probably got rich from stocks and sports betting." "Hey, if you can profit, profit."
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Picture from Cynthia Farshore
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There was also a song about the Falklands War in 1982, which got some talk, "If I remember correctly, I think Andrew was forward deployed in the British fleet sent to the Falklands." "Only reason they attacked the Falklands was to boost the popularity of their tyrannical dictatorship at home." "They used the Victor bombers. They were barely functional. Victors were OLD." "Not sure why the Junta thought they'd get away with it." "They assumed the Brits would do nothing." " A bit like the Pearl Harbor miscalculation, then."
When the event was close to being over, there was fireworks in the air outside.
Veterans Day, Friday November 11, would see some events. Among them one at Inspiration Island by Wisdomseeker (Lissena Resident).
Today, 11 November, is Remembrance Day here in the UK and, I understand, Veterans Day in the USA. I'm marking this by starting with a set of nostalgic songs that were favourites in WW2 and some arrangements of songs by Kurt Weill who escaped from Nazi tyranny to the USA. I shall be pulling other tunes from out of my collection, including some naughty ones from days long gone. Come and listen!
That night there was a Veterans Day party at Club Cutlass.
It's Veteran's Day so Cynthia is DJing tonight. She will play the Patriotic tunes for you. ... sorry "No Contests". This night is for honoring all Vets of the Military branches as a way to say thank you for their sacrifises. End of the event any Vets will be in a photo op. Party starts at 6 pm and ends at 8 pm SLT / PST.
A number of the Sunweavers are US veterans, and at one point it was suggested that only they should wear uniforms. But it was unclear if it was too late to get the word out or not. What was done was that unlike most Cutlass events, there would be no contest. And at the end, the veterans present at the party lined up in the back (this was the picture in which I got the most saluting).
When Club Cutlass first went up, flags of all five branches of the US Military were hung up at one side. Since then, there's been a new sixth branch:
The Space Force. Technically independent, it still falls under the direction of the Department of the Air Force like the US Marines fall under the Department of the Navy. So, Cutlass got a new flag.
On Monday November 14, the last of the events at the Veterans Tribute would take place.
"Dena on deck until 8ish with a 50s, 60s, 70s, & 80s mix."
After the last event, I would check out the rest of the island some.
Some never made it home, the body never found and their fates unknown.
Not everyone who fights for freedom gets their paycheck from Washington DC.
"Tie a yellow ribbon 'round the old oak tree ..."
It was a great Veterans Tribute, and looking forward to the one in 2023.
"Thank you for your service."
Bixyl Shuftan
